Brussels, 14/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - A press release from the European Commission delegation in Tunisia on Thursday 14 January - the day when the anniversary of the Tunisian 'revolution' is celebrated - states that “cooperation between Tunisia and the European Union has reached record levels”. The press release underlines European involvement in “accompanying Tunisia in the consolidation of its democratic transition and the relaunch of its economy”.
“The bilateral aid allocated by the EU in 2015 - in the form of donations - to support the reforms and Tunisian regional development has reached a record level of €186.8 million, which makes Tunisia the number one recipient in the region of EU aid from the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI).”
Six programmes are currently being implemented. They support the relaunch of the economy (€70 million), culture (€6 million), institutional support and integration (€12.8 million).
A new area is that the EU “will contribute to the modernisation of the security sector”, which is “a crucial domain, given the security challenges Tunisia faced throughout 2015”, the Commission states. A sum of €3 million has been earmarked for a programme for reforming the security sector. Furthermore, particular attention has been paid to regional development and decentralisation in Tunisia - a country which harbours a great deal of poverty in its remote regions.
In addition, the EU is contributing to large investment projects launched by development banks, including the EIB and EBRD. (Original version in French by Fathi B'Chir)