The European Union will pay €250 million to Tunisia for a migration deal whose efficiency is put into question.
The European Union and the small North-African nation of Tunisia reached an agreement on illegal migration on Wednesday. The EU’s goal is to curb illegal migration coming from Sub-Saharan Africa across the Mediterranean Sea.
The deal was brokered by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose political stance on migration has always been of harsher controls directly on the African continent. Last February, a deadly shipwreck killed 94 migrants off the shores of Southern Italy.
Migrants are often escorted by human traffickers operating from Northern Africa. This way their practice, considered illegal in the European Union, remains unpunished.
Northern African countries like Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt have highly unstable governments. Despite many EU attempts, no deal on migration was ever conclusively reached.
In fact, these countries have often been denounced for their human rights violations against migrants. Libyan and Tunisian prisons are filled to the brim with Sub-Saharan migrants, with countless accounts of murder, rape, and harsh beatings by the authorities.
Tunisia, in particular, was considered a blooming democratic country soon after the 2010 Arab Spring. However, it has turned into an autocratic state ruled by President Kaïs Saïed.
In order to save the country from impending economic doom, Saïed finally signed a migration deal with the European Union.
What does the agreement include
To solve Tunisia’s economic crisis, Saïed agreed with EU Commission Ursula Von Der Leyen and Giorgia Meloni to make the country a safe harbor for illegal migrants rejected in Europe.
At the moment, if a migrant is considered illegal in Italy, he gets rejected with no way of going back to his country. The deal seeks to change it, giving Tunisia the responsibility of redirecting refugees to the nation where they came from.
Saïed, however, drew the line at migrants already landing on European shores. As part of the deal, Tunisia can only host illegal refugees who are redirected whilst on the sea.
Tunisia is granted €250 million of EU money to reinforce border patrolling and return refugees to their countries.
Critics point to the many flaws in this deal. The fact that migrants have to be redirected whilst in their boats makes it much more challenging for European coastguards. Further, there is no guarantee Tunisia couldn’t use EU money to worsen human rights violations.
When questioned about the matter, a Commission spokesperson said "Our clear position is that migration management needs to respect human rights and international law. This is reflected in the MoU signed with Tunisia. Under the MoU, we agreed that we will cooperate on border management, anti-smuggling, return and on addressing root causes, in full respect of the international law, and the dignity and rights of migrants."
