EU-Tunisia relations: ‘For a renewed partnership’

Visiting Brussels on 4 June 2021, His Excellency Kaïs Saïed, President of the Republic of Tunisia, met H.E. Charles Michel, President of the European Council, H.E. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission and H.E. David Maria Sassoli, President of the European Parliament. These meetings provided an opportunity to highlight the depth of the historical ties uniting the European Union and Tunisia for almost half a century, in a spirit of constantly evolving strategic partnership.

This new phase of bilateral relations is based on shared values and mutual commitment to strengthening the political, economic and cultural ties between the two shores of the Mediterranean.

The talks, which took place in a very cordial climate, focused particularly on youth, education, culture and economic relations, which have been among the core areas of cooperation between Tunisia and Europe for several years. Implementing the priorities announced in the Joint Communication on a renewed partnership with the Southern Neighbourhood and confirmed by the Council conclusions of April 2021 was also at the heart of the discussions. In this connection, the two sides considered the socio-economic impact of the crisis linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic and social reforms needed to revive economic activity and growth.

Both sides welcomed the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Revolution. Since then, Tunisia has made progress in democratic consolidation, in particular by holding local, parliamentary and presidential elections, and enacting laws which guarantee human rights and fundamental freedoms, thus testifying to democracy's deep roots in Tunisian society.

As regards cooperation, the Tunisian President thanked the European Union for its continued support since 2011, recalling the European contribution of over EUR three billion to support the country's socio-economic recovery. For its part, the EU reiterated its long-term commitment to Tunisia and its willingness to support Tunisia in its efforts to consolidate its democratic institutions and promote a green, competitive and inclusive economy, in particular by supporting SMEs and promoting foreign investment.

The two sides also discussed the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 health crisis and the economic reforms to be undertaken to ensure the best conditions for a sustained recovery of growth. The European Union, one of the first contributors to the international COVAX mechanism, has committed to continue its support for Africa's efforts, including Tunisia's, in the fight against the pandemic by facilitating its fair access to vaccines and supporting its economic recovery, particularly in the most affected sectors such as tourism, services and air transport.

The visit confirmed both sides' commitment to deepening their strategic and privileged partnership. The two sides discussed the priority strands which will guide bilateral cooperation in the years ahead. The discussions identified the following main guidelines:

The cooperation begun in 2016 under the Youth Partnership has already yielded significant results. More than 5000 Tunisian students and academic staff have benefited from the Erasmus+ programme and taken part in exchanges, in all fields of study, with European universities. The European Union has also supported the modernisation of higher education in Tunisia through 50 capacity-building projects under Erasmus+ since 2015.

Tunisia is also one of the countries on the southern shore of the Mediterranean which has benefited most from its participation in European research programmes since 1 January 2016, and the only country in the Southern Neighbourhood and Africa which is associated with the Horizon 2020 European Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. Tunisian bodies have participated 87 times in 68 grants funded under Horizon 2020, receiving EUR 11.2 million in direct EU contributions to support highly advanced collaboration with European research centres. Both sides welcomed the success of this association and discussed at length its prospects. In this regard, Tunisia formally expressed its interest in joining the EU's new Horizon Europe framework programme in order to continue this partnership in the field of research and innovation.

In addition, recognising the importance of investing in youth for the future of our countries, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to further intensifying their cooperation in the field of education, vocational training and higher education, in particular through the Erasmus+ programme, and to work together to promote the culture and cultural heritage sector. In this context, and during this visit, Tunisia submitted the letter of intent for continued Tunisian participation in the EU's Creative Europe framework programme for the culture and creative sectors.

Both sides agreed to work together on mobility and all aspects of migration, including legal migration, in accordance with the competences of the EU and its Member States on legal migration and mobility. The two sides also had a frank discussion on irregular migration, aware of the root causes and taking into account the respective interests. It was agreed to continue joint work on all aspects of migration and its governance, including asylum, border management and the fight against migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings.

Both sides agreed to intensify their cooperation in the areas of security and justice and expressed their wish to make rapid progress in developing police cooperation. They also agreed to strengthen their cooperation in radicalisation prevention and counter-terrorism, and in the fight against money-laundering.

Both sides also welcomed the preliminary contacts on the agreement to extend the coverage of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service - EGNOS, illustrating the success of bilateral cooperation in space. This initiative also has a significant impact on the harmonisation of air transport safety on both shores of the Mediterranean and will also benefit the tourism sector.

Both parties also stressed the importance of continuing to implement the partnership within the framework of the consultation mechanisms established by the Association Agreement between the European Union and Tunisia, including experts' discussions for the work of the subcommittees. In this regard, the EU and Tunisia welcomed the holding of the various thematic meetings under the Association Agreement in 2019 and 2020, despite the public health constraints. These meetings allowed for fruitful exchanges on common challenges and maintained the dialogue between the Tunisian and European administrations.

The European and Tunisian sides were finally able to exchange views on regional and international issues of common interest, including the Middle East Peace Process. On this issue, both sides welcomed the ceasefire which should end the violence and expressed their desire to continue working with international partners to relaunch the political process, as well as their strong commitment to the two-state solution.

Given Tunisia's participation in the UN Security Council in 2021, both sides agreed to intensify political and diplomatic contacts in order to contribute together to the international community's commitment to multilateralism and the principles of the UN. In this spirit, the EU and Tunisia reiterated their support for the call of 30 March 2021 for an international treaty on pandemic preparedness and response.

The European Union and Tunisia underlined their joint determination to implement the above initiatives and to continue fruitful exchanges at all levels, in this case technical and political, which are the key to strengthening their privileged partnership.

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