The European Union suggested Tunisia could return €60 million ($63.1 million) that the bloc provided to its southern neighbor’s budget this month as a rift grows over a July deal to stem migration across the Mediterranean.
(Bloomberg) — The European Union suggested Tunisia could return €60 million ($63.1 million) that the bloc provided to its southern neighbor’s budget this month as a rift grows over a July deal to stem migration across the Mediterranean.
President Kais Saied this week rejected about €127 million in assistance from the EU following an agreement on migration controls that was announced by the European Commission in September. Tunisian officials have said they want more EU money to flow faster.
The bloc’s commissioner for neighborhood and enlargement policies, Oliver Varhelyi, responded on Thursday via a post on X, saying the implementation of that agreement “should continue once Tunisia returns to the spirit of our strategic & comprehensive partnership based on mutual respect.”
The post included an Aug. 31 letter from the Tunisian economy ministry asking the EU to disburse €60 million to support the budget under the terms of an agreement Varhelyi said was signed in 2021. The EU sent the funds on Oct. 3.
Tunisia Rejects $133 Million in EU Aid, Muddying Migration Deal
Tunisia “is free to cancel its formal disbursement request and wire back the money to the EU budget,” he said
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.