2018 will be highly important year for partnership between Tunisia and EU

Foreign Minister Khemais Jhinaoui, who is visiting Brussels on Monday, said that 2018 will be a very important year for partnership between Tunisia and the European Union. A partnership which, he said, has reached “a maturity” reflected in particular by the move to “a higher level of the EU’s commitment to Tunisia” and the launching of a reflection on the future of post-2020 relations, which requires “a renewed, more inclusive partnership based on common democratic values”. The minister said he had discussed with Ms. Mogherini EU financial support to Tunisia in particular regarding the release of the second tranche of the 150 million Euro macro-financial assistance.He also said that Tunisia and the EU have agreed to move to a higher level in terms of mobility and exchanges between young people and strengthening programmes for Tunisian youth. We have, he explained, examined the possibilities of implementing new initiatives dedicated to youth such as Erasmus + for young entrepreneurs and Erasmus + for young apprentices.