The signing of this agreement between Tunisia and the European Union on the economic, social and political inclusion of young Tunisians which is called “EU4Youth”, is funded to the tune of 60 million euros.
Khémaies Jhinaoui who was speaking in Brussels at a meeting with the press, where he co-chaired with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, the 15th meeting of the Tunisia-EU Association Council held Friday in Brussels, TAP reports.
This is an important agreement within the framework of the “Tunisia-EU Youth Partnership” initiative launched on December 1, 2016, on the occasion of the visit of President Béji Caïd Essebsi to Brussels to participate in the first Tunisia-EU Summit, and in which the main EU leaders took part, said Jhinaoui, underlining that “youth is a priority for the country”.
Referring to the diplomatic cooperation aspect, the Minister of Foreign Affairs cited the strategy for the development of cultural diplomacy enabling Tunisia to enhance its heritage, in particular, the common cultural heritage between Tunisia and Europe, the same source said.
On another level, the Minister indicated that the current meeting of the Tunisia-EU Association Council has also been an opportunity to continue the dialogue with senior European officials led by Mogherini on the future of Tunisian-European relations.
He also referred to the invitation to the EU to participate in the observation of the parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for the last quarter of 2019 in Tunisia.
“The EU has received the invitation from the Independent High Authority for the Election (ISIE) to send an Election Observation Mission (EOM) for the presidential and parliamentary elections”, reads a joint statement following the Association Council meeting issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
The EU has decided to further strengthen its support to ISIE, in particular through the approval of an additional amount of €2 million for this purpose.
Both sides stressed the importance of the efforts made to support investment in Tunisia by using innovative instruments such as the European External Investment Plan, according to the same source.
“We confirmed our will to further develop economic and trade relations between the EU and Tunisia, by continuing negotiations on a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA). DCFTA will help Tunisia diversify its economy, increase its competitiveness and develop its exports to the EU, its largest trading partner. We agreed on the importance of keeping our bilateral trade as fluid as possible, free of obstacles and barriers.
The European Union has noted the announcement of the Tunisian authorities’ decision to lift as soon as possible the trade measures put in place in November 2018. Tunisia has taken note of the European side’s comment that these measures have an impact on European products,” the joint statement said.
TunisianMonitorOnline (Source TAP)