Day: May 8, 2018

EU-Tunisia relations: towards a strengthening of the Privileged Partnership

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Over the last 12 months, the EU and Tunisia have developed much closer relations and stepped up their cooperation in the various fields covered by the Privileged Partnership. That is the conclusion of the progress report on the state of EU-Tunisia relations published today by the services of the European Commission and the European External Action Service ahead of the EU-Tunisia Association Council in Brussels on 15 May 2018. The report highlights the intense high-level exchanges, dialogue and cooperation on key issues such as youth employability and reforms, consolidating democracy and promoting…

Tunisian fruit exports up 180% from Jan to May 2018

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Fruit exports from Tunisia did very well in the first five months of 2018. According to figures published by the Tunisian Agricultural Ministry, fruit exports rose by 180% in the same period in the previous year, with a 97% increase in value. Between January 2 and May 2, some 1,342 tons of fruit were exported to foreign markets, worth 7.71 billion dinars (€2.55 bln), compared with 478.7 tons worth 3.9152 billion dinars (€1.3 bln) in the same period in 2017. These figures, the Tunisian ministry noted, are explained by the…

Independent candidates get most votes in Tunisia’s municipal election

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Independent candidates in Tunisia’s first free municipal election gained more votes than major parties Ennahda and Nidaa Tounes, officials said on Tuesday citing preliminary results. Sunday’s election is seen as key to a democratic transition and a chance to establish decentralization and local governance. Tunisia is hailed as the Arab Spring’s only democratic success because protests toppled autocrat Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011 without triggering major violence. But enthusiasm for democratic change has turned to anger over low living standards amid an economy that is struggling. Some Tunisians…

Municipal elections must embrace our differences

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The relative optimism prevailed on the eve of the municipal elections for a better future under the sky of political landscape, did not last. Unfortunately, this optimism turns to a significant anxiety and confusion.  Let’s simply have look at the statements of some politicians to understand the depressingly common feature in their statements on the new municipal Polls. Some of them, considered this event disappointing for the Tunisian democratic community along with its results. According to them, it represents a political earthquake and a warning to the progressive community which must…