French and German Interior Ministers Gérald Darmanin and Nancy Faeser arrived in Tunisia on Sunday to strengthen security cooperation and tackle illegal immigration, with announcements on these issues expected soon.
Darmanin and Faeser want to deepen security cooperation with Tunisia, as all three countries have been affected by terrorism. The avenues for improvement include “sharing information and cooperation between [intelligence] services in order to combat this scourge that affects us all”, the French Interior Ministry told EURACTIV France.
The reason for a joint trip is that “we want to work together as Europeans because it is not national responses that will enable us to combat illegal immigration”, the French ministry said.
With migrant departures from Tunisian shores having risen sharply since the beginning of 2023, the EU and its member states seek to control the phenomenon more effectively.
Last week, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was in Tunis with the heads of the Italian and Dutch governments, Giorgia Meloni and Mark Rutte.
Von der Leyen announced that Tunisia would receive “€100 million for border control and search and rescue” from this year as part of a broader plan that could invest up to €900 million.
France and Germany will continue discussions on “better cooperation in managing irregular migratory flows,” the French Interior Ministry told EURACTIV.
On the French side, it is hoped that “within the full sovereignty of each party”, work can begin on combating smuggling networks and “better management of returns”.
On the German side, the tone is slightly different, with a press release from the Ministry of the Interior mentioning, in addition to the fight against people smugglers, “the promotion of legal migration routes”, for training or work in the EU, via a “partnership of talents”, and the “strengthening of rescue efforts at sea”.
EURACTIV understands that “joint” announcements from France and Germany “to help Tunisia in its fight against illegal immigration” are expected on Monday.
(Davide Basso | EURACTIV.fr – Nick Alipour contributed to reporting)
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