The European Union (EU) wishes to negotiate with Egypt and Morocco similar partnerships to the one it has just concluded with Tunisia, a European source said on Monday July 17.
The EU and Tunisia signed on Sunday in Tunis a memorandum of understanding for a “comprehensive strategic partnership” which concerns the fight against irregular immigration, economic development and renewable energies. On the migratory side, it provides for European aid of 105 million euros intended to prevent the departure of migrant boats to the EU from the Tunisian coasts, to fight against smugglers, but also to facilitate the return of Tunisians who are in an irregular situation in the EU, as well as returns from Tunisia to their countries of origin of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she wanted the partnership to be a model for future agreements with countries in the region. Egypt and Morocco are two countries that could be affected, said a senior European official speaking on condition of anonymity, stressing the benefits of this type of partnership for both sides of the Mediterranean.
Abandoned in the desert
But this agreement with Tunis has also drawn criticism because of the treatment of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa by the country’s authorities. Hundreds of migrants were arrested in Tunisia and then “deported”, according to NGOs, to inhospitable areas on the borders with Algeria and Libya. Women and children are abandoned in the middle of the desert, without water, food or shelter, according to testimonies collected by telephone by AFP and videos sent to NGOs in Tunisia.
It is “not about writing a check” to the Tunisian authorities, the EU official stressed, indicating that the agreement included a series of contracts with different actors, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The memorandum of understanding concluded on Sunday between the EU and Tunisia, in the presence of Ursula von der Leyen, President Kaïs Saïed, but also Italian heads of government Giorgia Meloni and Dutch Mark Rutte, will have to be approved by all of EU member states. While European countries, such as Italy, wanted to be able to return migrants who had simply transited through that country to Tunisia, Tunis made it clear that it did not want “to be a country of settlement for irregular migrants”. The agreement therefore only covers the return of Tunisian nationals who are in an irregular situation in the EU.
The signed protocol plans to devote 15 million euros to the “voluntary” return of some 6,000 sub-Saharan African migrants from Tunisia to their countries of origin. In addition, the EU intends to deliver to the Tunisian coastal authorities eight boats for search and rescue operations and drones.
