The EU has offered Tunisia more than €1bn in a bid to help the North African nation overcome a deepening economic crisis that has prompted thousands of migrants to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Italy.
The financial assistance package was announced on Sunday in Tunis after Ursula von der Leyen, accompanied by the prime ministers of Italy and the Netherlands, Giorgia Meloni and Mark Rutte, met with Tunisian president Kais Saied. The proposal still requires the endorsement of other EU governments and will be linked to Tunisian authorities passing IMF-mandated reforms.
Von der Leyen said the bloc is prepared to mobilise €150mn in grants “right now” to boost Tunisia’s flagging economy, which has suffered from surging commodity prices linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Further assistance in the form of loans, totalling €900mn, could be mobilised over the longer-term, she said.