It will be a quick visit. Collaboration on migrants and repatriations is on the table, after the green light for the EU pact on migration and asylum. But also the issue of IMF aid to Tunisia. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will fly to Tunis together with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. They will meet Tunisian President Kais Saied and probably also Prime Minister Najla Bouden Ramadan. At the end they could make statements to the press in the presidential palace and then they will leave, also because von der Leyen is expected to tour Latin America. The agreement reached at the EU Council will certainly be one of the topics at the center of the talks, with Italy claiming the merit of having brought the migration issue back onto the European agenda.
Your browser does not support the iframe tag
“There is only one way to solve the problem for everyone and that is to control the external borders. It is now a paradigm and a shared vision», underlined Meloni, despite the negative vote of Hungary and Poland and the criticisms coming from the left and the Greens on the shortening of the times for asylum procedures and repatriations, and above all on the possibility of being able to postpone migrants not only in their countries of origin, but also in transit countries considered ‘safe’. This is why the meeting with Saied in Tunis will be important.
Read also: EU agreement on migrants and asylum, what it provides. A European fund and faster returns
Without forgetting that the issue of migrants is also linked to that of aid to the African country that could come from the International Monetary Fund. The Prime Minister claimed the “very valuable work that Italy has done from this point of view”, recalled his visit to Tunisia last Tuesday and is betting on tomorrow’s mission also to “consolidate an initial aid package from the Commission”.
Read also: Open Arms unmasked: pressure on Merkel and Macron to land in Italy