European Commission signs 4 agreements with Tunisia worth € 270 mln

The European Commission has signed four conventions with Tunisia worth some 270 million euros.

President of the Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker is on an official state visit to the country at the invitation of the Tunisian president Béji Caïd Essebsi.

The agreements were to support Tunisia’s energy sector, tax reform, socio-economic transformation, promoting solidarity, competitiveness and foreign trade as well as the justice system.

“Since 2011, we have given a financial amount of some 10 billion euros to Tunisia. And today, we have just signed 4 agreements that are worth some 270 million, which proves that our relations are not at a standstill but that they continue to improve every day”, Juncker said.

Talks also centered on to how fight illegal migration to Europe.

Beji Caid Essebsi is President of Tunisia.

“I regret to say it in front of the President, but Europe does not have a united policy and all the European countries do not react in the same way to migrants, so this is a problem that will remain“ , Essebsi said.

Juncker’s visit comes as Tunisia experiences a political crisis over social reforms. This is of major concern to observers, who fear that it might hinder the organization of the next elections scheduled in 2019 and efforts to curb the crisis.

The European leader is scheduled to meet Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed on Friday.

AFP