European Commission Cannot Release Details Behind €105m to Prevent Migrants from Leaving Tunisia
The European Commission has announced that it cannot yet release details behind €105m to prevent migrants from leaving Tunisia. The €105m is part of a €1bn aid agreement, which was announced in Tunis on Sunday by European Commission president Von der Leyen, along with Prime Ministers of Italy and the Netherlands, Giorgia Meloni and Mark Rutte, hosted by Tunisian President Kais Saied.
Memorandum of Understanding is Needed
A spokesperson said that a memorandum of understanding needs to be agreed before any details are released. However, similar past proposals for Tunisia may offer some clues. Others are comparing the EU-Tunisia deal to a €6bn migrant swap agreement with Turkey.
Money Needed for Migrant Smuggling Crackdown and Tunisian Border Management
Von der Leyen said that the money was needed to crack down on migrant smuggling and shore up Tunisian border management, a broad term that generally entails getting the Tunisians to intercept people fleeing by boats towards Italy. A number of European lawmakers have already raised alarm of the poor state of democracy in Tunisia following a crackdown on the opposition, journalists, and sub-Saharan Africans.
Downturn Sees Increase in Migrants Reaching Italy
The downturn has seen almost 54,000 people reaching Italy by crossing the Mediterranean so far this year, up from 21,700 at the same time last year. Another 534 people have died or gone missing off the Tunisian coast over the past five months, according to the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, a think tank.
Plans for a Country Teetering on the Brink of Economic Collapse
The scramble to lower the numbers has triggered a raft of plans for a country itself teetering on the brink of economic collapse. Last week, its debt was downgraded to “junk” by Fitch credit ratings agency.
Plans to Foster Legal Migration and Counter Irregular Migration
In late April, Ylva Johansson, the European Commission for migration, met Tunisian ministers dealing with foreign affairs, the interior and social affairs. She then announced plans to foster legal migration but also counter irregular migration towards Europe from Tunisia, including border protection support. The country shares a 1,194km land border with Algeria, a 490km land border with Libya, and has a 1,300km coast, which in some places is only 140km away from European shores.
Operational Plans for Italy to Bolster Investigations Primarily with Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia
An internal EU document on migrant smuggling from December 2020 sets out operational plans for Italy to bolster investigations primarily with Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia. That includes real-time information exchange and intelligence sharing, along with the EU’s police agency Europol and Eurojust, the EU agency on judicial co-operation. It is possible that the €105m of EU money announced over the weekend may go towards meeting some of those objectives.
Comparison with Past EU Spending on Tunisian Border Management
By comparison, the EU last year spent some €25m on Tunisian border management, €13m to integrate Tunisian returnees, and about €5m for voluntary returns to and from Tunisia. It had also in 2016 adopted a plan for a so-called Tunisian integrated border management, which was then implemented by the Vienna-based International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD).
