Economic news

EU considering major Tunisia aid package as migration surges

2023.06.11 09:34


© Reuters. Tunisia’s President Kais Saied shakes hands with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Tunis, Tunisia June 11, 2023. Tunisian Presidency/Handout via REUTERS

TUNIS (Reuters) – The European Union is considering over 1 billion euros ($1.07 billion) in aid for Tunisia to help develop its battered economy, rescue state finances and deal with a migration crisis, the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday.

Speaking in Tunisia, von der Leyen said 900 million euros in macrofinancial assistance, plus an immediate 150 million euros in budget support could be ready “as soon as the necessary agreement is found”, without elaborating.

She said the EU would also this year provide Tunisia with 100 million euros for border management, search and rescue, anti-smuggling operations and returns “rooted in respect for human rights”.

The EU, like other major donors to Tunisia, has so far conditioned its support on the country finalising a loan programme with the International Monetary Fund, but President Kais Saied has rejected key reforms required by that plan.

Saied has said cuts to subsidies and restructuring of state-owned companies, which his own government proposed to the IMF to reassure lenders they would be repaid, risked igniting a social explosion. Any new agreement based on different proposed reforms could take months more to negotiate.

Von der Leyen was accompanied by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose country is the main arrival point for migrants crossing the Mediterranean from Tunisia.

Meloni, who also visited Tunisia last week, has pressed for the IMF to relax conditions for the loan. She said on Sunday the EU and Tunisia had already signed a joint declaration, which she hailed as an important step “towards the creation of a real partnership”.

She said there was “an important window of opportunity” to finalise the aid agreement before the European Council at the end of June. It was not clear if Tunisia would still need to finalise its IMF programme to qualify.

Von der Leyen laid out a series of longer-term European efforts to help Tunisia’s economy including ongoing projects for a 150 million-euro digital cable link to Europe and a 300 million-euro renewable energy power export project.

She said the EU would also expand opportunities for young Tunisians to study, work and train in the EU to help them develop skills that could be used to boost the Tunisian economy.

($1 = 0.9305 euros)

Source link

Related Articles

Back to top button
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 76,221.42 0.44%
vested-xor
Vested XOR (VXOR) $ 3,405.08 99,999.99%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 2,900.05 7.78%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 1.00 0.09%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 197.03 3.99%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 601.69 1.97%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 1.00 0.03%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 0.557249 2.54%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.194405 0.94%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 2,900.48 7.81%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.399577 11.17%
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.160785 1.35%
the-open-network
Toncoin (TON) $ 4.95 4.27%
wrapped-steth
Wrapped stETH (WSTETH) $ 3,425.39 7.53%
shiba-inu
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000019 0.97%
avalanche-2
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 27.69 3.73%
wrapped-bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 75,994.36 0.44%
weth
WETH (WETH) $ 2,897.43 7.78%
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 12.66 4.84%
bitcoin-cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 384.83 2.46%
sui
Sui (SUI) $ 2.32 0.07%
polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 4.17 2.18%
leo-token
LEO Token (LEO) $ 6.25 0.30%
usds
USDS (USDS) $ 1.00 0.36%
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 72.25 2.26%
uniswap
Uniswap (UNI) $ 9.03 4.33%
wrapped-eeth
Wrapped eETH (WEETH) $ 3,049.22 7.81%
near
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) $ 4.29 2.35%
aptos
Aptos (APT) $ 9.87 4.15%
pepe
Pepe (PEPE) $ 0.000011 14.31%
bittensor
Bittensor (TAO) $ 514.63 1.66%
internet-computer
Internet Computer (ICP) $ 7.87 0.62%
fetch-ai
Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) $ 1.42 0.47%
dai
Dai (DAI) $ 1.00 0.03%
monero
Monero (XMR) $ 164.54 0.69%
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.10207 5.45%
ethereum-classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) $ 20.29 4.75%
kaspa
Kaspa (KAS) $ 0.115805 3.06%
ethena-usde
Ethena USDe (USDE) $ 1.00 0.10%
whitebit
WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) $ 19.65 1.57%
aave
Aave (AAVE) $ 184.73 7.85%
polygon-ecosystem-token
POL (ex-MATIC) (POL) $ 0.349086 4.65%
blockstack
Stacks (STX) $ 1.69 1.27%
crypto-com-chain
Cronos (CRO) $ 0.093816 10.13%
okb
OKB (OKB) $ 40.35 2.47%
dogwifcoin
dogwifhat (WIF) $ 2.40 0.04%
first-digital-usd
First Digital USD (FDUSD) $ 1.00 0.07%
arbitrum
Arbitrum (ARB) $ 0.587895 8.65%
mantle
Mantle (MNT) $ 0.675469 13.68%
filecoin
Filecoin (FIL) $ 3.79 3.18%