Maltese MEP and former Prime Minister Alfred Sant has called on the European Commission to revoke its blacklisting of Tunisia and called on the EU to support this North African country which has suffered from terrorism.
Sant said the EC should give its utmost consideration to the efforts put in place by Tunisia and to the importance of the EU's support to this North African nation. Sant’s reaction gathered immediate support while the process has started to reverse the EC decision as stipulated by EU Treaties. Sant raised these objections following talks with representatives of the Tunisian government who sought his intervention in the European Parliament on this issue.
The European Commission last December identified Tunisia among third-country jurisdictions as presenting deficiencies on anti-money laundering and failing to combat the financing of terrorism.
Sant said that at this stage, and given the fact that Tunisia economically and socially suffered from the disruptions of terrorism, attention should be given not to put further hardships on the country. He called for the rejection of the delegated act that stigmatises Tunisia as this would be contradictory and counterproductive to the EU’s commitments to send such a signal to Tunisia and to identify it as a threat.
“The EC decision was not fair and just on the Tunisian government.The EU should continue maintaining a strong and strategic relationship with this partner.”
The Maltese MEP said strategic efforts have been made by Tunisia over the past years in the field of combating terrorism. Although the preventive measures put in place still suffer from shortcomings and from certain implementation problems, the work completed so far by Tunisia should be further acknowledged in a scrutinizing manner.
“Tunisia and the EU already set the base for cooperation in this field with a political dialogue on security and counter-terrorism, during which the EU had proposed a list of additional support measures for Tunisia. Such support from the EU side should pave the way for a modern security policy and for solid structures to fight terrorism and to prevent radicalisation.”
Concerning the Tunisian anti-money laundering regime, Sant said a currency exchange controls' system is in place and the EU had already imposed restrictive measures (freezing of funds and economic resources) of certain persons responsible for the misappropriation of Tunisian State funds, which were effective last year.
Tunisia started to develop a national security strategy and together with the EU already set the base for cooperation in this field with a political dialogue on security and counter-terrorism. Negotiations for a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) with Tunisia is also ongoing. This country is the most significant receiver of EU macro-assistance in the southern neighbourhood and a great trade partner. The implementation of Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) with Tunisia also demonstrates the will to deepen the country's economic and trade integration with the EU.
The special status granted to Tunisia reflects the Union's commitment to supporting Tunisia's transition, as it tackles the challenge of the terrorist threat, remarked the Maltese MEP.