EU to strengthen economic and political support to Tunisia

BRUSSELS, Sept 29 (KUNA) -- The European Union adopted Thursday a joint report on "Reinforcing the EU support to Tunisia", which reaffirms the EUآ’s commitment to the democratic transition in Tunisia.
Presenting the report at a press conference, EU High Representative Federica Mogherini said "Tunisia is facing many problems in a troubled region. As the European Union, we are and always have been, alongside the Tunisian people and youth in particular, we are determined to strengthen democracy and the country's economic growth." The report outlines a series of measures the EU could take collectively to strengthen its support for efforts exerted by Tunisia to meet the critical challenges facing it and promote long-term stability, good governance, socio-economic development and security in the country.
These measures are in addition to a financial package of up to 300 million euros for 2017, which represents a substantial increase in EU aid to Tunisia in last two years, particularly in the areas of cooperation, trade, industry, education, research and the fight against terrorism.
On his part, Johannes Hahn, EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and the enlargement negotiations, told the joint press conference that "I am glad that we will be able to offer more money. But this alone is not enough: we need to offer expertise, capacity building and a wide range of incentives which will dynamise the economy." "Because Tunisia and the EU are facing the same challenges, we will pursue our strategic dialogue on security with Tunisia and provide assistance in this field when required. As with all our partners: assistance needs to be matched by ownership," he added. (end) nk.nfm