In a report published on Tuesday 8 May, the European Commission calls on Tunisia to accelerate its reforms.
"An accelerated pace of priority reforms is essential to respond to the expectations of the Tunisian people and to complete the structural economic and financial reforms that are needed to put the economy and public finances on a path of sustainable growth" the report on the state of EU-Tunisia relations between March 2017 and March 2018 says. The unemployment rate in Tunisia stood at 15.5% at the end of 2017, affecting young people in particular.
While underlining the progress achieved in a year, the report highlights the challenges linked to economic reforms or those linked to democratic and legal governance and to the revision of legislation in order to align it with the 2014 constitution. "The accent will be put on the acceleration of socio-economic reforms, including improvement of the business environment, as well as on the conclusion of a deep and comprehensive free trade agreement (DCFTA)", the Commission states.
Recalling the privileged partnership between the EU and Tunisia, the Commission says that a "reflection on the methods of cooperation and coordination to assure an even more effective operational follow up of the many common objectives has also been started".
For 2018, the EU and Tunisia intend to pursue their common work to define "a vision for 2030 that will reflect their ambition of an even deeper partnership able to address common challenges". The regional dimension or that concerning young people will be strengthened in the discussions. "The two parties will strengthen their cooperation in the area of security and counter-terrorism, as well as on migration and mobility with the conclusion of negotiations on visa facilitation and readmission, and the even more active participation of Tunisia in European programmes", the Commission adds. Illegal departures from Tunisia to the Italian coast increased from 999 in 2016 to over 6,000 in 2017.
The report also highlights the strengthening of high level political dialogue and of dialogue with civil society.
The EU-Tunisia Association Council will be held in Brussels on 15 May. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)