Brussels, 19/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - The head of the Tunisian government, Mehdi Jomâa, is expected in Brussels on Friday 20 June. He will meet President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso. Neither High Representative Catherine Ashton nor Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Füle, will be present, due to their packed diaries.
This will be the first trip to Brussels for Jomâa, who was appointed in March 2014, under a compromise between all of the political movements of the country, to replace a prime minister from the Ennahdha (Islamist) party, which holds a parliamentary majority. His appointment to lead a government of “technocrats” was designed to calm the political tension which emerged in late 2013 and early 2014 and allow the new constitution to be implemented, the security situation to be rebalanced and, above all, to allow economic recovery while addressing emergency situations, particularly of a social nature.
European assistance was considered insufficient, which goes some way to explaining why Jomâa did not choose Tunisia's principal partner for any of his first trips abroad. He chose Algiers instead, followed by Washington and various Gulf states. But as readers will see from the interview he granted EUROPE, he denies any suggestion of a strained relationship. His invitation to Brussels, which was officially made in March, was designed to mark the end of the chill which had crept into relations between Tunis and Brussels. The head of the Tunisian government also declined to comment on the situation in his country, preferring not to answer our question.
Agence Europe: Your visit to Brussels seems somewhat late in the day. There has been a need to clarify the situation and do you feel that Commissioner Füle's visit in March was enough to reassure you?
Mehdi Jomâa: I feel that our visit to Brussels comes at the right time. Indeed, we have just adopted the whole of the EU-Tunisia action plan for the period 2014-2017 at the most recent Association Council, which took place in Luxembourg on 14 April.
Commissioner Füle's visit in March gave us the opportunity to take stock of the state of play in our cooperation. He repeated the EU's readiness to support Tunisia in the final phase of its democratic transition. It is in the EU's own interests to continue to support Tunisia. The success of the Tunisian experience will prove that democracy can flourish on the southern shore of the Mediterranean, on the EU's doorstep.
In Tunisia, there is open debate on the nature and quality of the relationship with the EU, in view of aid which is seen as relatively less generous than hoped for. Also in view of the fears of committing to substantial trade negotiations (DCFTA) as things stand, mobility and “Open Sky”.
Since the revolution, the aid granted to our country by the EU has continually increased, it has taken the form of budgetary support and support to development projects to the tune of €150 million. We have to say that the progress we have made over the last three years has allowed us to accede to the status of Privileged Partner of the EU.
I firmly believe that with the adoption of the action plan of this partnership, Tunisia-EU cooperation will very soon receive new impetus, particularly as regards free trade and mobility.
Our needs, like the challenges we have set ourselves, are many and various and we hope, in line with the principle of “more for more” recommended by the EU, to see the consolidation and increase of this support, to be in line with our deep connections with the European Union.
You spoke of fears, but it is not a matter of that at all. In fact, in the major areas which are perfectly in tune with our process of harmonisation and rapprochement with the community acquis, Tunisia attaches a great deal of importance to continuing discussions on these issues. Obviously, as long as the European countries support this process.
France and Germany have proposed a conference of the donors. When will this be held? In what form will the EU be involved and what are your expectations of it?
It will be an international conference entitled “Invest in favor of Tunisia: a Start-up Democracy”. As its name implies, for our European partners it is about manifesting an interest in the democratic process to which my country has committed. Therefore, the European institutions, the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will be at the top of the guest list and our expectations, from the anticipated rise in power of the private sector, are immense. We expect our partners to be on board. As for the date, the first week of September seems ideal to hold this meeting in Tunis.
Will you be calling for concrete support from the EU and/or its member states to prevent the security situation from worsening further?
Security has a large place in cooperation between Tunisian the EU. In 2011, the two sides committed to a project to reform the security sector in Tunisia, with the following objectives: updating the Tunisian security system and improving border management. We are counting on our friends, the EU member states, for the implementation of the recommendations made in the framework of the “security sector peer review”. The need is an urgent one and security in Tunisia is very much linked to security in Europe.
The acuteness of the situation in Libya and in the Sahel region has a considerable influence on the stability of Tunisia. For this reason, we have stressed the need to respond to our country's urgent requirements in terms of border management to the south and to the west, notwithstanding the in-depth reform of the public security sector, which is one of the government's priorities.
What part can Tunisia play in regional dialogue with the Maghreb and with the whole of the Mediterranean? How can Tunisia's sensitivity over the question of the presence of Israel in this dialogue be taken into account?
In December 2012, there was a European initiative in favour of promoting integration in the Maghreb. The EU has consistently supported every effort to achieve this. This does not, however, change the fact that it is up to the countries of the Maghreb to put aside their differences and move forward in Maghreb integration. We have supported this constructive process and Tunisia has reiterated its willingness to support any initiative aiming to create better economic and security cooperation between the countries of the AMU. Indeed, this lack of integration costs our respective countries between one and two points of growth, which is an enormous loss to the entire region.
As regards the Mediterranean dimension, Tunisia is in favour of breathing new life into the Union for the Mediterranean. That said, we remain convinced that its restart is inextricably linked to a fair and lasting solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine. On this point, Tunisia continues to support the cause of the Palestinian people. (interview by FB)