28/03/2023 (Agence Europe) – “Determined to support the Tunisian people in the current extremely difficult economic context”, the European Commission is “ready to consider additional macro-financial assistance, if the necessary conditions are met”, the first of which is “the adoption by the IMF of a new disbursement programme”, as Paolo Gentiloni announced on Monday 27 March, following his visit to Tunis, where he met with the political authorities and the governor of the Central Bank. According to the European Commissioner for the Economy, this visit was an opportunity to “reaffirm our commitment to the values of democracy, inclusion and the Rule of law” as Tunisia is plunged into a serious political crisis since the president, Kaïs Saïed, assumed full powers in July 2021 (see EUROPE 13146/27). (MB)