The president of Tunisia rejects the “charity” of the EU in reference to funds allocated for migration

The president of Tunisia, Kais Saied, announced this Monday that he has rejected the funds allocated by the European Union for migration, considering that it is “charity” due to the amount. Saied, in a meeting with his Foreign Minister, Nabil Ammar, at the Carthage Palace, stressed that “Tunisia, which accepts cooperation, does not accept anything that resembles grace or charity”, since it maintains that the Tunisian people “do not want” to accept sympathy if it is “without respect.” “Therefore, Tunisia rejects what was announced in recent days by the European Union,” said the president, according to a statement from the Tunisian Presidency published on his profile on the social network Facebook. Thus, he explained that this refusal “is not due to the negligible amount” of the funds, but because “this proposal goes against” the signed agreement and “the spirit that reigned during the Rome Conference” in July. Finally, he stressed that his Government “is making every possible effort to dismantle the criminal networks that traffic in people and organs.” The memorandum of understanding reached by Tunisia and Brussels contemplated that the Tunisian authorities would stop irregular migration to Europe in exchange for more than 100 million euros. This pact has not been without controversy due to the role it gives to the Saied regime and due to criticism of Tunisia’s treatment of migrants seeking to reach Europe. Brussels assures that the agreement will avoid new tragedies in the Mediterranean and that it is forced by the “current trend” of flows in North Africa. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who made two visits to Tunisia to close the pact, has vindicated it and described it as an example for future agreements with other countries of origin and transit of migrants.

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