ANP
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 18:07
Tunisian President Saied is refusing to accept financial support from the European Union, international news agencies report. This concerns a sum of 127 million euros, which was promised to the country by the European Commission last month.
According to Tunisia, this amount of money is too low and goes against the agreements made in the migration deal that was concluded with the European Union a few months ago. This would be the first amount of money transferred to Tunisia.
When the agreement was concluded, the EU promised one billion euros in aid to the North African country, which was supposed to severely limit the migration flow to Europe. The money must also be invested in the country, so that the weak economy can be strengthened.
Saied’s decision could jeopardize the migration deal. Last week, Tunisia postponed the visit of a delegation from the European Commission, which was due to discuss the details of the deal. The agreements are still vague at the moment. Five Members of the European Parliament were also refused admission to the country last month.
Lots of criticism
So far the deal has not led to the desired results. From Tunisia, many African migrants board boats to make the crossing to Europe, which has not diminished. In August, large numbers of migrants arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa.
The agreement was concluded in July together with Commission President Von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Meloni and Prime Minister Rutte. The deal also received a lot of criticism from many European countries; President Saied takes an autocratic position and keeps his country in a stranglehold.
Furthermore, there are many concerns about human rights violations. Human rights organizations have pointed out that the situation of migrants in the country would deteriorate further. In the days after the deal was announced, dozens of African migrants died after being dumped in the desert.
2023-10-03 16:07:54
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