During their Association Council on Tuesday 15 May, the EU and Tunis underlined their resolve to strengthen their cooperation.
In the short term, the EU and Tunisia intend to set "still more ambitious objectives for the future" concerning their cooperation "around key issues like the employability of young people and reforms, democratic consolidation and the promotion of good governance – with the ever important role of civil society, the response to common security challenges and the collaborative management of migration". European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy Johannes Hahn made the link between financial support and reforms, urging them to be accelerated. Hahn will conduct a mission in the country with the financial institutions this year in order to discuss the reforms that are underway and the support needed to accompany them.
High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said the two parties wanted to conclude the free trade agreement "as soon as possible, perhaps even in 2019", adding that there was "similar ambition for visa facilitation and the agreement on readmission". But the negotiations on visas are up against a sizeable stumbling block: illegal immigration from Tunisia. Although Hahn and Tunisia's Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui denied this, a Commission report states that the illegal departures from Tunisia to the coast of Italy increased from 999 in 2016 to over 6,000 in 2017 (see EUROPE 12017). "Tunisia has made colossal efforts to control the border better and the number of Tunisians who emigrate is far less than a few years ago", Jhinaoui stated.
The EU and Tunisia are also looking beyond 2020, with hopes "to deepen their rapprochement more". By the Association Council in 2019, the two parties will have continued their reflection on the future vision for their partnership.
The EU also hailed the holding of local elections in Tunisia on 6 May. Mogherini said these constitute a "major step in the consolidation of democracy". The EU is to support the capacity building of the new local authorities with additional funding. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)