Crisis of the refugee agreement between Tunisia and the EU

Tunisia alleged that the European Union (EU) did not comply with the comprehensive cooperation memorandum of understanding signed in July, and therefore announced that it would not accept the financial aid of 127 million euros announced by the EU.

The statement made on the social media account of the Tunisian Presidency states that President Kays Said met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nabil Ammar. In the statement in which President Said gave an assessment of the agenda after the meeting, Said said: “The financial assistance that the EU has recently offered is contrary to the memorandum of understanding that provides for comprehensive cooperation and the spirit of the conference international on irregular migration. “We do not accept it because it is.” It was stated that:

Stating that Tunisia accepted cooperation with the EU in the fight against irregular migration, Said said that Tunisia and its people need support, not handouts.

On September 22, the EU announced a support package of €127 million to Tunisia, of which €67 million will be used to combat irregular migration. Following the announcement of the support package, it was announced that an EU Commission delegation would pay an official visit to Tunisia.

After the EU announced the support package, on September 26, President Said ordered Foreign Minister Ammar to postpone the visit of the EU Commission delegation to Tunisia.

Tunisia and the EU signed a memorandum of understanding on comprehensive cooperation on July 16. Under the memorandum of understanding, it was announced that the EU would gradually provide around one billion euros of support to Tunisia to be used for the education of young Tunisians, developing trade between the EU and Tunisia and combating irregular migration. (AA)