Talks held in the Tunisian capital Tunis on June 11 between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Tunisian President Kais Saied produced a joint EU-Tunisia statement that could lead to a crucial memorandum of agreement marking a turning point in relations between the European Union and the North African country.

The outcome is however still unclear as President Saied keeps raising the stakes. The four leaders met at the presidential palace of Carthage, holding discussions for over two hours, and raising difficult issues, including the management of migrants and the need for an agreement between Tunisia and the IMF on a loan to enable the country to ease its severe financial crisis and avert the risk of a default.

The joint statement was the first result reached by the leaders at the end of the summit. Italian Prime Minister Meloni hailed it as an "important step" towards an eventual agreement on migration cooperation and other issues that she hopes will be signed before the European Council summit at the end of June.

Italy spearheading agreement

"We have to arrive at the European Council with a memorandum between the EU and Tunisia that has already been signed," said Meloni, who is vying to put Italy at the forefront of relations between Europe and the southern shore of the Mediterranean.

Von der Leyen, Meloni and Rutte decided to fly together to represent the EU, after the idea was first launched on the sidelines of a summit in Moldova earlier this month, which was followed by intense diplomatic activity.

An initial, generic compromise was reached by the end of the meeting. The EU will provide €150 million in immediate support for Tunisia: it is a first step but certainly not enough for Saied. The EU leaders also said they were ready to mobilize €900 million in financial assistance for the North African country after the necessary agreement is found with the IMF.

An agreement has not been reached on the loan so far, because of Saied's reluctance to agree to the reforms the IMF has stipulated as conditions of granting the loan. Shortly after the departure of the three European leaders, the Tunisian presidency urged the IMF to "revise" its recommendations and avoid "diktats", stressing that its $1.9-billion (about €1.7 billion) loan would "not benefit" the population.

Difficulties

The difficulty in reaching a final result in negotiations between the EU and Tunisia is also partly due to the fact that the European states also can't agree a position unanimously.

The joint statement generically refers to the main issues connected to migration: deaths at sea, Europe's need to increase the repatriation of migrants not authorized to stay in the bloc, the fight against human trafficking.

Von der Leyen announced €100 million in EU funding to Tunisia to bolster border-management, search-and-rescue anti-smuggling operations and repatriations.

Meloni, for her part, announced "a conference on migration and development in Italy, which will be a further step in the path of partnership" between the EU and Tunisia.

Saied said he was committed to respecting human rights and to closing the southern border of the country, but stressed that Tunisia's doors were only open for the repatriation of Tunisian migrants.

Saied against hosting migrants from other countries

The hypothesis that Tunisia, as a safe country of transit, could host sub-Saharan migrants, failed once again to take hold. "The idea, secretly backed by some, that the country could host centers for migrants in exchange for money is inhuman and unacceptable", concluded Saied.

The EU's strategy remains the one adopted since the first visit of European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni last April. At that point, he convinced Saied to approve a plan involving a long-term and global economic and energy partnership in which migration would only be a small part.

But Tunis must do more on rights and the rule of law: "The EU wants to invest in Tunisian stability. The difficulties of its democratic path can be overcome," said von der Leyen, outlining the help Europe is ready to provide, as well as the red line within which the new partnership must be established.