Faeser emphasized that on the one hand it is in his interest to facilitate deportation to an Arab country. On the other hand, Tunisian workers should have more opportunities to migrate to Germany for work. Faeser visited Tunisia with his French counterpart Gérald Darmanin. The former colonial power France has traditionally had close ties with Tunisia. Last year, however, it was not France but Italy that became Tunisia’s most important trading partner.

Tunisia as a transit country

Next to Belarus, Tunisia is currently one of the most important transit countries for illegal migration to Europe. According to the Federal Police, around 26,000 people came here in the first five months alone, after about 4,000 boatloads of migrants in the same period last year. Among the irregular migrants are Tunisians hoping for a better life in Europe.

At the end of 2022, the federal government has approved a so-called migration agreement with India. Georgia and Moldova are soon to follow – even if the classification of these two countries as safe countries of origin under discussion within the federal government could take much longer.

Tunisia was once the birthplace of the Arab Spring, a series of uprisings that wiped out some of the old Arab rulers in 2011. Former Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia at the time. After the initial democratic advances, disillusionment spread in Tunisia, partly because of persistently high youth unemployment. Tunisia also needs foreign currency and attracts foreign investment.

A week ago, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was in Tunis. He promised the country, which was suffering from economic problems, additional financial assistance of up to 900 million euros. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte also attended the meeting.