THE European Union proposed today to Tunisia an “enhanced partnership” that would be accompanied by financial aid that would exceed one billion euros, without mentioning conditions for the provision of this support to the debt-ridden north African country facing a migration crisis.

“It is in our common interest to strengthen our relationship and invest in stability and prosperity and that is why we are here,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said from Tunisia where she traveled with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the Netherlands Mark Rutte.

After her meeting with the president Cais Sagent, the president of the Commission announced the intention of Brussels to provide long-term assistance, “a long-term financial assistance that can reach 900 million euros”. In addition, Brussels “could grant additional aid of 150 million euros which will be included in the budget from now on”, added the president of the Commission.

The provision of this aid will be part of a “five-point package” to be agreed bilaterally by the end of June and the upcoming European summit.

Recalling that the European Union is “the first trading partner and first investor” in Tunisia, he noted that Europe “has supported Tunisia on its path to democracy since 2011 (and the uprising that overthrew the dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali) , a long and difficult journey. “Difficulties can be overcome,” Ursula von der Leyen said without referring to the current political crisis rocking Tunisia.

President Sagent gathered all the powers in the summer of 2021 and is accused of “authoritarian deviation” and an attack on the rights and freedoms in his country.

Since the beginning of February, about twenty dissidents have been thrown into prison accused of “conspiracy against the security of the State”. According to Amnesty International, they are victims of a witch hunt.

In recent months, Europe has not hidden its concern about the developments in Tunisia. The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, even spoke of a risk of collapse.

THE Tunisia suffocating under the burden of a debt amounting to 80% of GDP and unable to borrow abroad, which causes shortages of goods such as flour, sugar and rice, which are procured by the State.

New credit from the International Monetary Fund has been under negotiation for months, but talks have run into President Sagent’s refusal to implement reforms, which include restructuring hundreds of over-indebted state-owned enterprises and removing some government subsidies on key products.

The program proposed by the European Union foresees the strengthening of investments in Tunisia, mainly in the digital sector and renewable energy sources, as well as the expansion of the European student exchange program, accompanied by a package of 10 million euros.

One of the important parts of the European “package” concerns the fight against the “cynical industry” of illegal immigration, for which the EU will this year grant 100 million euros to Tunisia to control its borders, search and rescue migrants , its president said Commission.

Georgia Meloni, who today visited Tunisia for the second time in five days, said she was “satisfied” with the European initiative, which proposes a “real partnership to deal with the migration crisis and the issue of Tunisia’s development”.

THE Italywhose coasts are less than 150 kilometers away, is concerned about a new increase in migration flows from Tunisia.

According to statistics from the International Red Cross, 51,215 migrants arrived illegally by sea in Italy since the beginning of the year. 26,000 of them came from Tunisia and the rest from Libya. More than a thousand lost their lives at sea or are missing.

A few hours before his meeting with the president of the Commission and the prime ministers of Italy and the Netherlands, President Kais Sagent said from the coastal city of Sfax that Tunisia will not become Europe’s border guard.

“The solution will not come at the expense of Tunisia…we will not be the guardian for their countries,” he said.

The Forum for Economic and Social Rights, a Tunisian non-governmental organization, denounced the European visit in a statement as a “bargain” to “give money” to Tunisia in exchange for increased surveillance of its borders.