In an effort to curb migrants, the European Union struck a deal with Tunisia , in a development that once again shows the European Community’s willingness to turn a blind eye to human rights and migrants’ abuses.
The New York Times says, in a report by its correspondent in Brussels, Monica Bronchak, that after the ship disaster in the Mediterranean, European officials provided money to Tunisia in order to prevent migrants from boarding the sea.
This is happening amid intense debate among European officials over migration and its prevention, including the ship disaster off Greek shores, last month. The agreement reached on Sunday stipulates that the Tunisian government is committed to tightening control at the maritime borders, pursuing migrant smuggling gangs, and accelerating the return of Tunisians living illegally in Europe.
The European Union presented a broad package to support the country’s ailing economy. And the Tunisian capital is only 130 miles from the Italian island of Sicily, which is closer to the smaller Italian islands. This does not make Tunisia the source of immigrants in the first place, but rather makes it a transit point for immigrants from sub-Saharan African countries wishing to reach Europe.
The EU agreement comes amid criticism from human rights organizations of Tunisia, and its treatment and violations of migrants from the Sahel and Sahara countries, including rounding up hundreds of them and leaving them at the desert border with Libya without water or food.
On Sunday, the European Union provided 105 million euros for the purchase of monitoring devices, boats and marches, as well as training and technical support for the Tunisian border guards. These funds will cover the cost of returning migrants who want to return voluntarily to their countries.
In June, more than 600 migrants died when a ship full of migrants sank off the coast of Greece. This great loss, and the failure of European officials to help the sinking ship, was the cause of intense debate about the role of the European Community in the crisis.
“The sinking of the ship, in which so many people lost their lives, is yet another call to action,” said European Commission President Ursla von der Leyen. “We want to go after smugglers and human traffickers,” she added.
Besides the 105 million euros to combat illegal immigration, European officials have pledged an additional 150 million euros to support Tunisia, but without providing details on how the money will be spent.
The European Community said that there is an offer on the table of 900 million euros in the form of mini-financial assistance, conditional on Tunisia’s approval of the reforms of the International Monetary Fund.
Europe has tightened immigration policies after the arrival of more than a million Syrians to Germany between 2015-2016, which led to the rise of the far right in Europe, which considered them a threat to culture on the continent.
The European Union, along with public opinion, has expressed tendencies to adopt tougher policies towards immigrants, which traditional parties in the past considered anti-European values.
With more than a million Ukrainian refugees arriving in the past 18 months, European politicians are trying to reduce the number of new arrivals. The agreement signed by von der Leyen, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, and Tunisian President Kais Saied will not take effect unless all heads of state of the European Union agree, which is expected to happen.
Said criticized the organizations that should provide support to immigrants, claiming that they were content with data, compared to the Tunisian people who gave immigrants everything they had, and showed generosity and generosity.
Italy is the first arrival station for migrants, and from there to the rest of European countries. The Netherlands is a preferred arrival point for immigrants.
The Rutte government collapsed last week over immigration policy. The Dutch and Italian leaders praised the deal, and Meloni considered it a “model” for other agreements with North African countries.
European officials hope that funding and control over politics will give them leverage to prevent abuses of migrants by Tunisians. But human rights organizations, experts and analysts criticized the agreement, and spoke about the risks of financing and rewarding foreign governments for stemming the waves of migrants.
Over the past years, the European Union has funded the coast guard in Libya to prevent migrants, although the guard’s record of violations of migrants is documented, and the European Union is repeating the same mistake with Tunisia, according to the newspaper.
Saeed led a campaign of hatred against immigrants from the Sahara countries, accusing them of trying to change the demographic character of the country, and he is accused of canceling the democratic gains that Tunisians achieved during the past decade.
“The deal shows once again that the EU is willing to deviate from values in favor of short-term solutions to the migration problem,” says Camille Le Coz, co-director of the Institute for Migration Policy in Brussels. “What is missing is the reference to protection issues and human rights abuses.” against immigrants.
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