Brussels, 30/01/2002 (Agence Europe) - The 3rd session of the EU-Tunisia Association Council ended in Brussels on 29 November with the common observation that co-operation was working well, despite differences in analysis of the level of Community support for the country's economic reforms. The two delegations also exchanged views on EU-Tunisia, EU-Maghreb and Sahara relations, on the situation in Morocco, Algeria and Libya, and on developments in the Barcelona Process. The situation in the Middle East and the fight against terrorism were raised in particular over lunch.
For the President of the EU Council, Josep Piqué, who had Commissioner Chris Patten next to him, "collaboration with Tunisia is excellent". Mr. Piqué noted that implementation of the Association Agreement - which is in its fourth year - had produced good results and hoped that "significant impetus" be given to the social chapter and that of services, a hope in which the Tunisians share. For his part, Mr. Patten qualified Tunisia as "pioneer of the association policy" and was in the "vanguard" of the Barcelona Process. Tunisian Foreign Minister Habib Ben Yahia, for his part, pleaded in favour of a "comprehensive approach" open to the cultural dimension and "civilisation", and welcomed the "positive evolution" of relations with the EU, informing his partners of the outcome of the broad national consultation organised in his country. It "gave us a positive impression and allowed us to measure how far we have come and what remains to be done" in the programme of anchoring Tunisia to the Community, he said, while fearing a slow down in European financial support. Mr. Patten made a point of reassuring him by referring to "Tunisia's excellent absorption capacity", and promising that the level of aid would be maintained between MEDA 1 (over five years) and MEDA 2 (over three years).
Mr. Ben Yahia also expressed Tunisia's will to act to give body to the Maghrebine integration process the founding text of which will probably be signed in Tunis in May, hoping that other Arab countries neighbouring the Mediterranean (Algeria, Libya and later Syria and Lebanon) would join the group already formed. He also said that Tunisia supports the plan for a EuroMed financial institution or bank, for which it took the initiative in the early 90s by a "memo handed to Spanish Foreign Minister Abel Matutes". The minister welcomed the fact that the plan should "be taking shape".
During the meeting, there was also question of the political aspects of Euro-Tunisian relations. In his address, at the formal session, Josep Piqué welcomed the "undertaking made" by President Ali, notably on 7 November of last year. "We encourage you to pursue the efforts so as to assure a pluralist democracy enabling all components of civil society to effectively participate, unimpeded in public life". Mr. Ben Yahia, for his part, regretted the negative attitude of NGOs on this subject (see page 5), accusing them of "confusing human rights and combating fundamentalism", and adding: "we are not perfect but can be perfected".