On July 16, 2023, the EU and Tunisia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at outsourcing the EU’s migration policy to a third country, the authoritarian regime of Kaïs Saïed.
The S&D Group strongly criticizes the content and method which led to the signing of the memorandum of understanding – without the participation of the European Parliament but in the presence of the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Dutch Prime Minister Marc Rutte. This memorandum needs to be revised as it does not address all human rights concerns, including the rights of migrants and asylum seekers, as well as the continued deterioration and deepening of the repression against the opposition, say the S&Ds.
“Democratic backsliding, rule of law threatened, human rights, rights of the opposition, freedom of media and expression violated. Racist attacks against black migrants. Despite all this, without involvement of the European Parliament or transparency on how EU funds will be spent, the European Commission signed a memorandum of understanding with Tunisian President Kais Saied,” said S&D Vice-President for Foreign Affairs . , Pedro Marques.
“The S&D Group was keen for this debate to make clear in plenary: the EU cannot finance an authoritarian regime to outsource migration management simply to please right-wing forces in Europe.
“This is not the right way to deal with migration; This is not how we want EU foreign policy to be run. We should instead support democracy and dialogue with Tunisian civil society which is closest to Europe in the region. The Commission should reconsider the EU-Tunisia agreement and bring it into line with the treaty’s objective of defending human rights and democracy,” Marques concluded.
“The EU-Tunisia MoU takes an overly simplistic approach to one of the biggest challenges currently facing the EU. Paying autocrats to prevent immigration to the EU will not bring stable, long-term solutions to the EU’s internal problems with asylum and migration policy,” stressed the S&D vice-president responsible for of Internal Affairs. Gaby Bischoff.
“With the new pact on migration and asylum, we have the opportunity to agree on a common migration policy based on our fundamental EU values and on solidarity, both towards people seeking protection in the EU and Member States through a predictable and mandatory relocation mechanism. ” added Bischoff.
“The EU should stop externalizing an internal problem by paying a high price to another third country to prevent migration to the EU. »