On Tuesday 29 March the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy, Olivér Várhelyi, announced additional funds for Tunisia during a visit to the country.
Highlighting that the war in Ukraine was affecting food prices, Mr Várhelyi announced €200 million in support for the Maghreb/Mashrek region. “We would like to help you with another €20 million to make sure people have bread on the table”, he added when speaking to the press.
The Commissioner recalled that the EU had already paid €50 million in budgetary aid a few weeks ago and was ready to continue to help. He also announced, in connection with Tunisia’s reforms, that the EU could soon make a further payment of €150 million within a few weeks, and that another package of €100 million could be spent by the end of April. “We are also totally ready, seeing the progress made with the IMF, to mobilise our macro-financial support of €300 million”, he added.
Mr Várhelyi added that as part of its investment and economic plan, the EU was ready to mobilise “around €4 billion for investments, to bring back work and economic and social growth”. He said this could cover renewable energy, the digital economy, connectivity and trade with Europe.
On the occasion of Mr Várhelyi’s visit, the EU and Tunisia signed an agreement regarding Tunisia’s participation in Horizon Europe. According to the Commissioner, this programme should provide the opportunity to accelerate the development of the Tunisian research sector which will provide economic growth and new opportunities for the Tunisian economy. The Horizon Europe Association Agreement will take effect after its entry into force, i.e. once Tunisia has completed its ratification process. Tunisia already participates in Erasmus + and Creative Europe.
The Commissioner also called for further reforms in the country. According to him, “Tunisia will succeed with a profound reform that will create even stronger institutions that are even more capable of delivering results”. He said that it was not only the process that counted, but also the result “that you can achieve with a Parliament that works and is able to take all the necessary decisions, for example for all the reforms related to the economic and investment plan”.
Mr Várhelyi also stressed the importance of the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary and called for the population to be included in the reforms. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)