Brussels, 24/01/2002 (Agence Europe) - On 29 January the EU/Tunisia Association Council will hold its third session since the entry into force of its agreement of March 1998. The meeting will be followed by a meal where a number of political issues impacting on the relationship between Tunisia and the EU will be raised, notably the war on terrorism and the situation in the Middle East. The EU will be represented by the Community Troika (the current and succeeding Presidencies, the European Commission and a CFSP representative. The Tunisian delegation will be led by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Habib Ben Yahia.
The analysis of the situation that experts have been tackling since the end of last year will be concluded with what the European Union considers as an "exemplary" example of co-operation. This counts for the acquis that have been reached in the trade arena, with Tunisia meeting all its commitments of tariff reduction, as well as in meeting the deadline in the financial field too. Community sources have indicated that Tunisia should be regarded as the country that has applied the most effective use of Community financial. This support was in the range of EUR 428 million in the 1995-99 MEDA Programme and is at a level of EUR 248 million for 2002-04.
The Tunisians also consider that the partnership has gone harmoniously but that the efforts that they have put into co-operation with Europe have not been compensated adequately and fear being left high and dry just at the moment when they approach the sensitive issue of opening their markets up to European industrial products. They believe that the level of growth from Community aid has slackened off compared to the earlier period and is insufficient for the tasks ahead of them, as laid down in the agreement. The Tunisians are convinced that the social side of the agreement should be given greater importance and that more practical co-operation is embarked upon in the cultural arena.