The European Union has delivered new equipment to Tunisia for better land and sea border control. The handover took place during a meeting in El Aouina on January 21.
The European Union has delivered new equipment to Tunisia for better land and sea border control. The handover took place during a January 21 meeting in El Aouina as part of the Border Management Programme (BMP).
Brussels has called the initiative a "sustainable and solid partnership" with the Tunisian government, carried out in collaboration with the Tunisian National Guard and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD).
The European Union delegation in Tunisia reported the news, noting that EU support for Tunisian border control totals 130 million euros and that these funds support activities for security, search and rescue, and countering human smuggling as well as migrant trafficking.
Equipment worth over 21 million euros thus far
On January 21 at the headquarters of the Tunisian National Guard in El Aouina, the EU praised the results thus far of the program, which was started in 2018. It added that the initiative had helped to strengthen the operational capacity of the National Guard and the Coast Guard, especially as concerns search and rescue operations and protection of undocumented migrants.
The EU noted as well that, since the project was started, modern equipment worth over 21 million euros had been provided, as well as over 60 training sessions for 550 officers and others, as well as the purchase of equipment for operations on the ground.
Read AlsoTunisia under harsh criticism for anti-migrant measures
Third phase to run until 2028
The EU delegation underscored that these measures contributed, starting from 2024, to a drop in irregular crossings of the Mediterranean and the number of missing and dead at sea, attributing this to an increase in rescue operations.
The plan, the EU added, has entered its third phase, planned until 2028, intending to create advanced radar surveillance infrastructure to consolidate Tunisian search and rescue and coast protection capacity over time.As part of the cooperation, the EU has reiterated that the partnership is based on cooperation, respect for human rights, and stability in the Mediterranean.
EU-Tunisian collaboration on migration management has in recent years been the subject of public debate in Europe, especially on the "outsourcing" of border policies and what constitutes an adequate balance of control, rescue, and rights protection.
Read AlsoNew EU migration policies expected to get even tougher in 2025