European Union Signs €1 Billion Deal With Tunisia to Combat Irregular Migration.
The European Union authorities have signed a €1 billion agreement with Tunisia in an attempt to combat irregular migration from the country and help it boost its economy.
The agreement was signed by the EU politicians and the Tunisian authorities on Sunday during a visit to the latter’s territory.
On the trip to Tunisia, the EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, was accompanied by the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, and the Prime Minister of Italy, Georgia Meloni, marking the second trip of this group to Tunisia in a month.
As Deutsche Welle explains, during the visit to Tunis, the delegation of the EU held talks with the President of Tunisia, Kais Saied, on measures they can take to tackle irregular migration to the EU, which has been a growing problem.
The visit was completed by a signing ceremony, and further steps that the authorities plan on taking are to be announced soon.
In a previous visit to Tunisia, von der Leyen said to President Saied that up to €900 million would be allocated to the country to help it with its economy.
Back then, von der Leyen also said that the Commission was committed to set apart for Tunisia a further €105 million this year to halt irregular migration. This is almost triple the amount that the EU had given to Tunisia in the last two years, Deutsche Welle notes.
“We both have a vast interest in breaking the cynical business model of smugglers and traffickers. It is horrible to see how they deliberately risk human lives for profit,” von der Leyn said back in June.
Due to its economic state, a large number of citizens of Tunisia have been trying to reach the bloc irregularly.
Italy is one of the countries that has been registering a high number of irregular arrivals from Tunisia. Other countries have also seen a high number of irregular arrivals from Tunisia, and for this reason, it has been seen as necessary to take further action.
In a recent report issued by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), it was revealed that the Central Mediterranean route registered a higher number of irregular border crossings in the first half of this year.
The same noted that increased migratory pressure may persist on this route due to the high number of migrants from Tunisia and Libya attempting to enter the EU irregularly.
“Increased migratory pressure on this route may persist in the coming months with smugglers offering lower prices for migrants departing from Libya and Tunisia amid fierce competition among the criminal groups,” the statement of Frontex reads.
The western Balkan route was the route with the second-highest number of irregular border crossings recorded in the first six months of 2023.
