At the association council on Thursday 11 May, which was co-chaired by Malta's Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella and his Tunisian counterpart Khémaies Jhinaoui, and attended by European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy Johannes Hahn, the European Union and Tunisia moved ahead with a full evaluation of their relations (see EUROPE 11785).
A "stable Tunisia is a priority", Vella said. Tunisia wanted to go beyond the "traditional model" towards a "future framework" more in step with the "new dynamic" that has been recorded. Both parties "underlined their commitment to strengthening this partnership further" and to mapping out "new perspectives", a final joint press release states.
The EU "hailed the unchartered territory of the Tunisian democratic experience", and promised "to accompany the (Tunisian) reform process further" and help it address its needs in external financing. Tunisia will have "the opportunity (...) to maximise the resources from the next European External Investment Plan", the EU stated.
A common work programme has been drawn up for a "enhanced effort in fostering trade and investment", especially through continuing the negotiations on free trade. Tunisia is asking for "exceptional measures".
Both parties thus mapped out the main lines of a "Partnership for Growth", which will include: - planning a high-level EU economic mission; - organising trade fairs on priority themes; - a structured dialogue on different sectors of economic activity; first and foremost, the textile and clothing sector.
A "Partnership for Youth" was also established to help support young people in finding a job. This will be launched on 1 December.
Two other agreements were signed – one for a local development approach, and the other enabling Tunisia to participate in the activities of Creative Europe (an EU support programme for the audiovisual, cultural and creative sectors), especially for "developing digital skills".
Tunisia is the first "southern neighbourhood" country to join this programme for the benefit of its cultural and audiovisual operators. They will thus be able to take part in training and festivals and have access to the market, under the European MEDIA programme.
This programme is "one of the concrete elements of the EU strategy on international cultural relations", European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Tibor Navracsics (who co-signed the agreement) stated.
The association council also provided the opportunity for a high-level discussion on regional issues, especially the situation in Libya. (Original version in French by Fathi B’Chir)