Tunisian President Kais Sagitt has decided to postpone the date of a European Commission delegation scheduled for this week’s visit to Tunisia to review “negotiating points” in a deal reached in July on migration, a minister said. .

The European Commission said it had proposed to send a delegation “this week” to “continue negotiations on the implementation of the Protocol of Agreement” which provides financial assistance to Tunisia to combat illegal immigration.

But on Monday, President Kais Saget decided to postpone that visit to a later date to be determined by the two parties, according to a press release from the presidency.

Sagitt “requested the postponement of the date of the visit to examine points to be negotiated in the framework of the agreement,” Interior Minister Kamel Feki said in a video broadcast last night, Friday, on his ministry’s official website.

Denying that there is a “disagreement” with the EU on this matter, Feki underlined that this “preliminary agreement (…) has not yet been concreted”.

The European Commission said for its part that it is looking with the Tunisian authorities for “the best moment (for a visit) for both parties”, without clarifying the reasons for the postponement.

The agreement signed in July in Tunis is mainly intended to reduce the number of migrant departures from the Tunisian coast, the main point of departure along with Libya for thousands of irregular migrants sailing the central Mediterranean to Europe.

In return, Tunisia is expected to receive 105 million euros in European aid to fight illegal immigration. The Commission announced this week that around 42 of this 105 million will be “fast-tracked”.

The EU has also pledged €150 million in direct financial aid in 2023 as Tunisia faces a severe economic crisis.

“A dose of aid”, according to Feki, which will allow Tunisia to “exit the state of economic recession”

The agreement drew criticism from mainly NGOs, who denounce the authoritarianism of President Said and the mistreatment of immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa in that country.

In mid-September, Tunisia barred entry to the territory of the European Parliament delegation expected to discuss the deal and meet with members of civil society, trade unionists and opposition representatives.

For Feki, this delegation consists of “four MEPs who do not represent the European Parliament and who work independently and have joined a large disinformation campaign against the Tunisian state”.

“They are not welcome in Tunisian territory,” he added.