The Tunisian foreign minister, Khemaies Jhinaou, has announced that an EU-Tunisia summit will take place in Brussels on 30 November and 1 December 2016.
In an interview with AfricanManager, he said one needed to be clear about actual aid granted to Tunisia but no figures were yet available about loans, donations or investment. However, he said he was sure that Europe was prepared to increase its aid substantially.
A series of visits have been announced with the same end in mind. EU Neighbourhood Policy Commissioner Johannes Hahn will travel to Tunis for an international investment conference on 28 and 29 November, and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini will go there on 1 November.
Tunisia aspires to better connect with the European area, to develop exceptional, high-quality relations with the EU and expects the EU to play its part, being receptive to Tunisia’s demands and understanding its needs, said the minister. He welcomed the European Parliament’s resolution in September, recommending a Marshall-type plan for Tunisia and backed the idea of converting the country’s debt (see EUROPE 11624). This idea was not taken up by the European Commission in its recent report on greater aid for Tunisia (see EUROPE 11635). On Monday 17 October, European foreign ministers are due to publish a conclusions document on the matter.
The Tunisian minister, who said substantial support for Tunisia’s democratic transition would cost less than its failure, is counting more on neighbouring countries. He said his country has a intimately linked destiny with Spain, Italy, Malta, Portugal and France, hence the importance of the meeting on security issues in Paris on Friday 28 October.
Jhinaou gave the feeling that Tunisia is now attaching greater importance to EU-North African relations than EuroMed relations as such. The secretary general of the UMA (Union of Maghreb Arab), Taïeb Baccouche, expected in Brussels at the end of October, has appointed a special envoy to the EU, who will argue in Brussels for a strengthening of EU cooperation with the five UMA states. (Original vesrion in French by Fathi B’Chir)