Tunisia: Commissioner Füle signs MoU for €240 million Tunisian cooperation

EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle has signed a memorandum of understanding in Tunisia for the new National Indicative Programme (NIP) worth €240 million for the period 2011-2013.

The Commissioner was on a two-day visit to Tunisia, his first visit to a southern Mediterranean country since he took office in February 2010. He met Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, Foreign Minister Kamel Morjane, as well as the ministers of Development and International Cooperation, and Industry and Technology.

Among the issues raised during his visit was the question of advanced status following a proposal submitted by Tunisia, as well as financial and technical cooperation, and issues such as the Union for the Mediterranean or security in the region.

"The challenge for Tunisia," the Commissioner said, "is to advance in a uniform way across all sectors, for such an educated and developed society as Tunisia should have the possibility to flourish in order to consolidate its social and economic achievements."

The budget allocated under Tunisia's NIP will be shared across four priority areas: employment, Programme of Support to Integration II, Programme of Support to Businesses, and Justice.

"The 2011-2013 programming intervenes in a specific context marked by the ever-deeper integration of the Tunisian economy with the European economy and by the appearance of the global economic crisis, which imply for Tunisia a more sustained effort in its pursuit and reinforcement of the reform process," the NIP says.

Tunisia NIP (2011-2013)