The EU–Tunisia Privileged Partnership — What Next?

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Both Tunisia and Europe are living a crossroads moment. Tunisia’s slumping economy threatens to drag down the political transition. In Europe, centrifugal forces within oblige the bloc to redefine what criteria should govern its relationship with close external partners. In this constellation, there is a window to forge a new model of how Europe´s relations with neighbors of great political affinity could look like. As the EU is engaged in soul-searching on how to approach its periphery and on its role in the world more broadly, Tunisia offers a testing ground for decisive EU action in the neighborhood. 

Ahead of a series of high-level meetings between Tunisia and the EU that will decide the future course and ambition for their relations, a group of European and Tunisian experts, including GMF Senior Fellow Kristina Kausch, has published a study outlining proposals for the future of this relationship. Under the auspices of IEMED and the EuroMeSCo Euro-Mediterranean research network, the Tunisian–European expert panel explores options for the larger framework of EU–Tunisia relations, as well as for specific policy areas such as trade liberalization, civil society cooperation, migration, and mobility.

The study was presented at the European Parliament ahead of the EU–Tunisia Association Council on May 15.

Read the full study here: https://www.euromesco.net/publication/the-eu-tunisia-privileged-partnership-what-next/