The Guardan reports:
Udo Bullmann, a veteran Social Democrat MEP, said the political and human rights situation in Tunisia was “worrisome now” and had been “worrisome” when the memorandum of understanding was signed. “The European Commission has granted EU taxpayer’s money to an authoritarian regime that tries to restrict all opposition through inhuman methods,” he said.
The EU promised €105m to Tunisia in 2023 to fight people smugglers, expanding an existing multimillion-euro border-control fund. The Tunisian government later said it had handed back €60m to Brussels.
The commission, Bullmann added, should investigate the human rights situation of a country before undertaking any foreign policy.