Summary:

On 25 and 26 October 2023, the European Union, led by the European Commission head Ursula Von der Leven, held the Global Gateway Forum in Brussels, with Tunisia notably absent. 

The Forum was intended to bring together EU leaders and leaders from key EU partner countries to discuss investment and infrastructure development, with some comparisons made to China’s Belt and Road program.  

British news service GNB reported that Tunisia was invited to the event but declined to attend as tensions between the EU and Tunisia have escalated. 

Tunisia previously denied entry to a group of EU Members of Parliament (MEPs), stating that the group had not followed diplomatic protocol and failed to coordinate the visit with the Tunisian government. 

Then Tunisia requested to delay a formal visit from the European Commission. In the meantime, Tunisia returned a €60 million payment received as part of a 2021 funding program related to the COVID-19, claiming that the EU was disrespectful and unfaithful to the July 2023 agreement reached regarding migration assistance. 

President Kais Saied and Foreign Minster Nabil Ammar vehemently insisted that Tunisia does not need “charity” from the EU. FM Ammar went as far as to threaten to reveal sensitive information pertaining to the assistance deal negotiation process if the EU continued to operate in what he viewed as bad faith. 

Outlook:  

Tunisia’s relationship with the EU has reached a challenging impasse as both sides appear flustered that the other is not operating in good faith in relation to a July 2023 deal for the EU to provide security and economic assistance to Tunisia. 

What the EU hailed as a “blueprint” for regional investment to help curb the flow of migrants has reached an uncomfortable stalemate, with Tunisia’s failure to attend the Global Gateway Forum an apparent confirmation that the two sides are not on good terms. 

Despite renewed pressure from Italy, the EU remains fractured internally on how the assistance deal can move forward while ensuring that Tunisia respects the human rights of irregular migrants. Some EU leaders remain concerned about the deterioration of democracy in Tunisia under President Saied. 

The EU is likely to continue pushing to implement the deal while Tunisia has few options for financial assistance despite insistence from its leaders that it can go it alone. Most economists seem to agree that without a major influx of funding or aid, Tunisia’s economy remains on course for a major crisis in the coming months. 

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