Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The heads of European diplomacy are holding discussions on many files, including the situation in Ukraine, Tunisia, digital diplomacy, and others. The European Foreign Affairs Council will meet in Luxembourg next Monday, and the focus of the meeting will be on discussing the Russian aggression against Ukraine.
According to the EU institutions in Brussels, the EU ministers will then exchange views on EU-Latin America and the Caribbean relations ahead of the EU-CELAC Summit to be held on 17-18 July 2023.
After that, the Council will hold a discussion on digital diplomacy and is expected to agree on conclusions on this issue.
Finally, under current affairs, the Council can be informed about the files of Tunisia, Armenia and Azerbaijan and the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.
Earlier, the Tunisian presidency announced, in a brief statement on Facebook, "the meeting of the President of the Republic, Kais Saied, with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the Italian Prime Minister, Georgia Meloni, and the Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte," sharing only several pictures of their meetings.
The European delegation arrived in Tunisia, on the eleventh of this month, to discuss "bilateral relations between the European Union and Tunisia and issues of economic cooperation, energy and migration."
It is noteworthy that the recent visit is the second in a week for the Italian Prime Minister to Tunisia, as she held talks on June 6 with the Tunisian President on the file of immigration and economic cooperation.
Tunisia is living in a severe economic crisis, which was exacerbated by the repercussions of the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, and the high cost of importing energy and basic materials, following the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.
A joint statement was issued after the meeting, which brought together the Tunisian president and the leaders of the Netherlands, Italy and the European Commission, stating, "Based on our common history, geographical proximity and strong relations, we agreed to work together on a comprehensive partnership package" to strengthen the ties that unite us for the common interest of both parties.
We believe that there is a huge potential that will lead to tangible results for the benefit of Tunisia and the European Union. The comprehensive partnership will cover the following areas:

Strengthening economic and trade relations
He created a partnership in the field of sustainable and competitive energy
immigration
rapprochement between peoples.
The European Union and Tunisia have common strategic priorities in all these areas, on which both sides would benefit from further strengthening of cooperation.

Our economic cooperation will enhance growth and prosperity through greater stimulation of trade and investment relations and contribute to providing more opportunities for the business sector, including small and medium enterprises. The European partner intends to support economic relations, including allocating total financial assistance.

As for the partnership in the field of energy, it will contribute to achieving the green energy transition in Tunisia, reducing costs, setting an appropriate framework for exchange in the field of renewable energies, and integrating into the European Common Market.
Regarding our joint work on migration, combating irregular migration to and from Tunisia and avoiding human losses at sea is our shared priority, including combating smugglers and human traffickers and promoting border management, registration and readmission with full respect for human rights.
The rapprochement between peoples is central to our partnership, and in this regard we will work to further strengthen cooperation in the fields of scientific research, education and culture, as well as to develop partnerships of talents and skills to open new horizons for the development of competencies and mobility, especially for young people.
The joint political dialogue between the EU and Tunisia within the framework of the Tunisia-EU Association Council convening before the end of this year will provide an important opportunity to revitalize political and institutional relations in order to jointly face common international challenges and maintain a rules-based order.
We have assigned the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Tunisians Abroad and the European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement to prepare a memorandum of understanding on a comprehensive partnership package, to be approved by Tunisia and the European Union before the end of June 2023.