(Finance) – The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyenthe Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte they will return to Tunisia on Sunday as part of the dialogue for the signing of Memorandum of Understanding with President Kais Saied. “We are not anticipating the content of what will be addressed in the meeting in Tunis, the discussions on the memorandum of understanding are still ongoing” explained the EU Commission spokesperson Dana Spinant recalling that von der Leyen, Meloni, Rutte – the so-called “Team Europe” in the negotiations with Saied – already went to Tunisia on 11 June last.
In June, the “team” seemed one step away from signing the Memorandum and ratification was expected a few days later, with the arrival of the Enlargement Commissioner Olivier Varhelyi. However, the negotiations slowed down, going well beyond the deadline desired by the EU, i.e. the summit of leaders at the end of June. This did not happen and departures from the city of Sfax started to increase again and, thanks to Libyan instability, the fear of a summer wave of flows in Brussels became growing.
The triad seeks an all-round understanding, which does not only cover the migrant dossier. The memorandum between the EU and Tunisia will not be tied to $1.9 billion loan which the International Monetary Fund is called to pay to the Maghreb government. A loan which, moreover, will remain blocked until Saied ensures the reforms requested by the IMF. The agreement between Brussels and Tunis, according to the document of last June, should immediately trigger a 150 million euro loan to support the Tunisian budget.
For Prime Minister Meloni it will be the third visit to the presidential palace in Carthage in just over a month. The agreement with Tunis has been a priority for months that Italy has brought to European tables, aiming to make it a model for similar agreements with African countries of transit and origin. “
The signature will arrive on Sunday. I believe that an important signal is being given to Tunisia in favor of the stability and growth of the entire African continent”, underlined the Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
On the criticisms of NGOs and MEPs on the Tunisian authorities’ failure to respect the rights of migrants Spinant he stressed that, in general, with all partners, “the EU’s position is that management must always be carried out in compliance with international law and human rights”.