On Monday June 19, the French and German Interior Ministers, Gérald Darmanin and Nancy Faeser, were in Tunis. A visit which follows those of Giorgia Meloni, President of the Italian Council, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission and Mark Rutte, Dutch Prime Minister, a week earlier. A visit which comes a few days after a shipwreck off the Greek coast in which hundreds of people are still missing. A drama to which the French minister referred in Tunis.
With our correspondent in Tunis, Amira Souilem
All morning, the howling sirens of Gérald Darmanin’s convoy punctuated the start of the day for the inhabitants of northern Tunis. It was from a hotel, facing the sea, after meeting with President Kaïs Saïed, that the French minister announced that his country would release aid of 25.8 million euros in addition to the 105 million already promised by the European Commission in the migration file.
” This support should contribute to acquiring the necessary equipment and organizing useful training, in particular for Tunisian police and border guards, to contain the irregular flow of migrants and encourage their return in good conditions. “, detailed the French Minister of the Interior.
On several occasions, Tunisia has nevertheless made it known that it would not be “ the coast guard of Europeans.
An argument that Gérald Darmanin managed to turn in his favor: “ And we are sensitive to the fact that Tunisia is not the EU’s border guard, that is not its vocation, but on the other hand, we must work to avoid that in the countries of departure – since there are a lot of people who come you know from the south of the Sahel here – that there can be a minimum of departures. And I believe that France has privileged diplomatic relations with these countries which contribute – this is what Tunisia asked – to be able to prevent these irregular flows. »
Gérald Darmanin announced that President Macron had invited his Tunisian counterpart to take part, in Paris, this week, in the summit called ” for a new global financial pact to discuss the economic difficulties that Tunisia is currently going through.
To our Tunisian friends, I reiterated France’s desire to strengthen our cooperation in matters of security and the fight against irregular immigration. As such, France will mobilize an additional €25.8 million to strengthen their equipment, the training of their… pic.twitter.com/UgK82VZi9L
— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) June 19, 2023
>> To read also: Immigration: Tunisia refuses to be “the border guard” of the European Union