Meloni urges swift agreement between Tunisia and the EU

“Having adopted a joint declaration” with Tunisian President Kaïs Saïed was “an excellent outcome” and is “a prerequisite” for quickly reaching an agreement between Tunisia and the European Union. This was stated today by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a press conference with Maltese counterpart Robert Abela in Rome.

• “We are very pleased,” added Prime Minister Meloni, who had travelled to Tunisia on Sunday along with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
• An agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) appears to be more distant. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated in a meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Monday that “the decisions that are involved really are decisions for Tunisia to make.” He further added that the United States “very much appreciate the work that’s being done, including by the delegation led by Prime Minister Meloni and also the President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen to visit and to see if there’s a way forward.”

Maltese Prime Minister Abela has endorsed the Mattei Plan for Africa, which the Italian government will unveil in the autumn. It “is in line with our vision and can be an example of interconnection with North Africa, mainly leveraging solar and wind energy,” he stated.

• Regarding immigration, the Italian and Maltese governments agree that “without the adequate defence of the external borders of the European Union, it becomes much more difficult to talk about secondary movements,” stated Italian Prime Minister Meloni.
• “The challenge is to work together on primary movements to resolve the longstanding issue of secondary movements. In this regard, with Abela, we have worked to change the perspective, the paradigm of these years of the European Commission,” she added.