Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-000727/2025/rev.1
to the Commission
Rule 144
Tineke Strik (Verts/ALE)
On 26 January 2025, the director of Frontex gave an interview[1] in which he hailed the memorandum of understanding on a strategic and global partnership between the European Union and Tunisia[2] a success. He cited the 59 % decrease in the number of arrivals from Tunisia and Libya in 2024 as the reason for this success.
- 1.Regard being had to the systematic human rights violations perpetrated by the Tunisian Coast Guard – which is one of the main beneficiaries of EU funding under the memorandum of understanding –, as well as the de facto termination of the right to asylum in Tunisia owing to the UNHCR registration freeze on asylum procedures enforced by the Tunisian Government, does the Commission agree that the EU-Tunisia memorandum of understanding has been a success, and what impact do these violations have on cooperation and funding under Article 21 TEU, which stipulates that EU external policies must respect human rights?
- 2.Can the Commission prove that the decrease in the number of arrivals from Tunisia is a direct consequence of the memorandum of understanding and cannot be attributed to other factors, such as changed routes, weather conditions or a reduction in the number of migrants due to changed circumstances in third countries?
- 3.Can the Commission rule out the deportation of undocumented third-country nationals to Tunisia during its current mandate, or the transfer of asylum seekers by EU Member States to Tunisia pending their asylum procedures or by applying the safe third country concept?
Submitted: 18.2.2025
Last updated: 17 March 2025