Macron and Meloni call for support for Tunisia to keep migration pressure under control

“In Tunisia, the great political tension and the economic and social crisis that is worsening in the absence of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are extremely worrying”, declared Emmanuel Macron in a press conference at the end of the Spring European Council .

“We must in the short term manage to stop the migratory flows that leave Tunisia and increase the pressure”, emphasized the French head of state, who specified that he discussed the issue of migration with the head of the Italian executive during a bilateral meeting.

Evoking a “wave of migrants”, Giorgia Meloni wanted to explain that she approached this topic because no one seems to realize the risks created by the situation in Tunisia.

“If we do not address these issues in an adequate manner, there is a risk of seeing an objectively unprecedented wave of migrants unleashed,” estimated Meloni, who leads a government that has clearly spoken against the arrival of migrants in Europe.

The situation in Tunisia was also analyzed in the discussion with the European commissioner for economy Paolo Gentiloni, who will travel to Tunis in the next few days.

Tunisia has been negotiating with the IMF for several months a loan agreement of almost 2 billion dollars.

For his part, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, warned on Monday that the situation in Tunisia is “very dangerous”, evoking a risk of “collapse” likely to cause “migratory flows to the European Union and lead to instability in the region”. the Middle East and North Africa”.