The European Commission failed to disclose findings resulting from a human rights inquiry in Tunisia prior to the signing of an agreement with the North African country, according to European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly.
The European Commission reportedly failed to disclose findings from a human rights inquiry in Tunisia conducted shortly before the signing of an agreement with the North African country which aimed to strengthen border control.
The accusation was made on October 23 by European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly, who in April opened an inquiry into the EU-Tunisia agreement, which was strongly supported by Italy.
'Lack of transparency' by commission
“The ombudsman found that, despite repeated claims by the commission that there was no need for a prior HRIA [human rights impact assessment], it had in fact completed a risk management exercise for Tunisia before the [deal] was signed,” the watchdog said in a press release.
The ombudsman, a former journalist, noted that such risk assessments are conducted as a matter of routine with EU partner countries that may receive EU funds.
Responding to the watchdog, the commission said its “risk management exercise” into human rights abuses in Tunisia took into account criteria similar to those in a normal HRIA, including “human rights, democracy, the rule of law, security and conflict in the relevant partner country”.
Thus, the Commission had conducted such an assessment but had failed to disclose the findings, O'Reilly said.
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EU Commission pledges more efforts
In her report, O'Reilly admonished the European Commission for withholding what it knew about human rights abuses and issued what could be seen as a warning amid much fanfare for "innovative solutions" being tested for migration management.
She noted that the Commission has the obligation to ensure that EU funds do not support actions violating human rights and called for the defining of explicit criteria for suspending EU funding in the event of violations.
Media and NGOs had previously issued accusations of human rights violations of migrants in relation to the agreement.
"The commission takes note of the decision and suggestions for improvement of the European ombudsman and reiterates its full commitment to transparency and accountability," a spokesperson said.
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