The EU should make its recently-agreed ‘cash for migrant control’ deal with Tunisia a model for similar deals with other countries, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a letter to EU leaders ahead of a Brussels summit on Thursday (29 June).
“Our aim should be for our current initiative with Tunisia to act as a blueprint for similar partnerships in the future,” wrote the Commission President in the letter seen by EURACTIV, adding that the “Commission will seek new comprehensive partnerships with third countries”.
“We need to follow-up consistently with partner countries and in this regard, I reiterate the importance of signing the post-Cotonou agreement, which is a comprehensive legally binding framework, central for cooperation activities, including on migration, with partner countries,” wrote von der Leyen.
EU migration policy is set to be one of the main items at this week’s summit, as the bloc’s leaders seek to revamp its immigration and asylum rules.
During a visit to Tunis earlier this month, von der Leyen said that the EU would offer Tunisia a €900 million package to support its economy, alongside an immediate €150 million in budget support once a ‘necessary agreement is found’.
The Commission will also immediately invest €100 million for anti-smuggling activities, border management, search and rescue operation, and migrant returns to Tunisia, and step up relations with the country via an EU-Tunisia cooperation council. Officials are currently working on an EU-Tunisia ‘memorandum of understanding’ which is expected to be concluded within the next few days.
The deal is modelled on the €6 billion ‘cash for migrant control’ pact which has been in place between the EU and Turkey since 2016.
The EU executive has been in talks with Egypt on a similar agreement.
Controversy
The agreement with the North African state is controversial because of the political boost it gives to the country’s autocratic President Kais Saied. In 2021, Saied suspended the Tunisian National Assembly and dismissed the government, and has ruled by decree since then.
In recent months, a series of top opposition politicians and independent journalists have been arrested and detained on anti-terrorism and sedition charges as part of the Saied government’s crackdown on political opposition.
Saied also faced international censure in February after claiming there was a plot to settle migrants from sub-Saharan Africa in Tunisia, stating that ‘we will not permit the demographic composition (in Tunisia) to be changed’.
The EU’s financial offer could also plug a substantial chunk of the financing gap left after Saïed refused to agree to the terms of a $1.5 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan that had been tentatively agreed last November and stated that he would not accept ‘foreign diktats’. Without significant international financial support, Tunisia would face a balance of payments crisis.
“Building Fortress Europe leads people into even more dangerous journeys. That is what experience has shown. The one way to actually tackle trafficking and smuggling is to create safe and legal pathways for people who are trying to reach the EU to seek protection,” Stephanie Pope, Oxfam EU expert on migration, told EURACTIV.
“Even if the EU was serious about ensuring human rights compliance, the existing agreements have shown the EU has no tools to enforce or monitor this,” said Pope about the EU’s migrant control deals with third countries.
[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]
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Source: euractiv.com
