Two weeks after one of the worst shipwrecks of a migrant boat in the Mediterranean, European leaders are discussing Thursday in Brussels the difficult finalization of an agreement with Tunisia intended to prevent these crossings and to fight against smugglers.
The European Commission hoped to conclude before this EU summit a memorandum of understanding with Tunis to implement a “global partnership” including a migration component. With the aim of then extending this type of partnership to other countries in the Mediterranean region, such as Egypt. But the discussions with Tunis, sensitive, could not succeed in time, and must resume Monday, after the great Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.
The partnership, which also includes strengthening economic and trade ties and cooperation on green energy, is accompanied by financial support amounting to more than one billion euros. It was announced on June 11 during a visit to Tunis by the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, accompanied by the head of the Italian government, Giorgia Meloni, and her Dutch counterpart, Mark Rutte. However, it raises the concerns of some Member States because of the autocratic drift of President Kais Saied.
The European aid is partly linked to the granting by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of a credit of 2 billion dollars currently being negotiated, with conditions attached. But since the trio’s visit,” the border guard” of Europe and will not bow to what he describes as the “dictates” of the IMF.
Mark Rutte, however, was optimistic. “It’s taking a little longer,” but “discussions are continuing. I expect a good result,” he said. To prevent crossings, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also called for establishing cooperation with Libya “similar” to the migration agreement signed with Turkey in 2016.
Boats, radars and cameras
In detail, the European aid announced for Tunisia includes a loan of up to 900 million euros, but also budgetary aid of 150 million euros and a package of 105 million euros for the management of migration for 2023.
The EU plans to deliver boats, mobile radars, cameras and vehicles to Tunisia by the summer to help it strengthen control of its maritime and land borders. Increased police and judicial cooperation is planned to fight against smuggling networks.
The agreement also aims to return more easily to Tunisia nationals of this country who are in an irregular situation in the EU. The EU also finances the “voluntary” returns of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa from Tunisia to their countries of origin: 407 returns have been financed in this way since the beginning of the year, according to the Commission.
Tunisia, some portions of the coastline of which are less than 150 km from the Italian island of Lampedusa, has recorded numerous attempts by migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan African countries, to leave for Italy.
Arrivals on the Italian coasts are up sharply: more than 60,000 since the start of the year (+133% compared to the same period in 2022), according to the UNHCR. Half of these arrivals come from Tunisia, the rest from Libya and Turkey. The central Mediterranean – between North Africa and Italy – is also the most dangerous migratory route in the world (more than 20,000 deaths since 2014 according to the IOM).
On June 22, a week after the sinking off the Peloponnese of an old trawler from Libya which left at least 82 dead and hundreds missing, a boat of migrants leaving from Sfax in Tunisia capsized off Lampedusa, making about forty missing. These tragedies have brought out the criticism of NGOs on an increasingly restrictive European migration policy and the absence of “legal channels for migration”.
In front of the European Parliament, volunteers from the Alarm Phone network, an emergency telephone line intended to help migrants in danger in the Mediterranean, have been organizing since Wednesday a reading of a thousand emails sent to the Italian, Maltese, Greek and Spanish authorities for their report vessels in distress.
