Tunisia

Tunisia Denies Entry to EU Delegation on Official Visit

SEP 15 2023·Updated AUG 27

Story

Image credit: European Parliament/Flickr [via Wikimedia Commons]

The Facts

Tunisia has denied entry to a group of members of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs, who were due to start an official visit to the North African country on Thursday.
Politico
The five-member delegation led by Germany's Michael Gahler was set to meet with civil society organizations, trade unions, and opposition figures but failed to secure engagements with Tunisian officials.
EuroNews
The two-day visit was expected to assess developments since the committee's previous fact-finding mission to the country in April 2022, when concerns over Tunisia's democratic standards and human rights were expressed.
Al Jazeera
Tunisia reportedly didn't provide reasons for the refused entry, which Gahler described as "unprecedented since the 2011 Tunisian Revolution."
guardian
The controversial decision comes shortly after some European parliament lawmakers criticized a migration deal Brussels struck with Tunisia in July, which would allow the latter to receive millions of dollars in financial support for stemming the flow of migrants across the Mediterranean.
Middle East Eye
Meanwhile, on Friday, the EU administrative watchdog gave the European Commission a three-month deadline to explain how it plans to safeguard human rights in the migrant busting deal with Tunisia.
EUobserver

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Tunisia's outrageous refusal is a direct result of the European Commission signing a disgraceful EU-Tunisia migrant deal and giving a blank cheque to the autocratic Kais Saïed government to insult the EU's parliamentary diplomacy and divide the bloc.

Brusselstimes

Narrative B

Though Tunisia's decision may be deemed controversial, the EU must find ways to go through this crisis to ensure the long-term success of the migration deal since the EU-Tunisia migration deal has already led to increased boat interceptions and rescues.