"The EU's support to Tunisia has, over recent years, resulted in important progress, but it remains below our aspirations and expectations, given the challenges our country is facing", Tunisia's Minister for Development, Investment and International Cooperation Mohamed Fadhel Abdelkefi told media. He was speaking to group of MEPs who were visiting Tunis on Monday 27 February.
This criticism has surprised Brussels, three months after the Tunisia 2020 international conference on investment (at the end of November 2016) where the European Commission committed "to increase [its assistance] significantly". "The combination of subsidies, macro-financial aid and loans, including those from the European Investment Bank, has brought the EU's total support to Tunisia between 2011 and 2016 to approximately €3.5 billion ", a source stated.
According to the same source, "bilateral financial assistance through grants is foreseen to increase to up to €300 million in 2017 and the Commission aims to maintain this reinforced support until 2020". The Commission also plans "to use part of the additional financing planned to leverage further support from the European financial institutions which could mobilise approximately €800 million per year until 2020", the press department of the European External Action Service told EUROPE.
Other European sources surprised by Abdelkefi's statement – which was probably made for domestic reasons – say (informally this time) that "Tunisia has been very well served and we intend to continue this support". "But efforts need to be made on the Tunisian side on its capacity for absorption, and this partnership should not be reduced just to the issue of finance", the sources added.
Indeed, in Brussels reminders are given that "EU support has been provided in more diverse approaches and forms of assistance over the past five years to address Tunisia's needs and to target its population, especially the youth and the more vulnerable segments of the Tunisian society". (Original version in French by Fathi B’Chir)