Mr President, in March, the Delegation for Relations with the Maghreb countries and the Arab Maghreb Union, of which I am vice-chairman, made a visit to Tunisia, where we observed that, while there has been undeniable economic progress, there exists a democratic deficit in the field of freedoms, particularly in the area of the press and the audiovisual media. We were also able to observe – and I think this should be stressed – that the Tunisian authorities are aware of this deficit, which they justified time and time again through the need to temper their political openness in accordance with their particular idiosyncrasies and culture as well as the danger to Tunisian society of the growth of Islamic fundamentalism. They therefore asked for understanding and patience. I must say that the Tunisian Government has made gestures which indicate goodwill. They made these gestures during our visit and this is reflected in the report which the delegation has presented to Parliament. In the view of the Group of the European People’s Party , we are therefore holding a debate which is necessary but which should not take the form of an exaggerated and alarmist condemnation, which is often what happens, but which should recognise certain facts which concern us because they affect the areas covered in the association agreement, such as the respect for human rights and democratic principles. This issue must be resolved by means of political and social dialogue, and an effort on the part of the Tunisian Government to implement legislation which will guarantee political pluralism in a real sense and not in a purely formal sense and, above all, provide the necessary freedom so that the citizens can express their opinions and the media can reflect them. This is the message which this House must send to the Tunisian authorities, who must receive them in the positive light in which they are intended. To this end, within the framework of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation, the Commission, the Council and Parliament must not go into reverse with regard to the aid programmes which must be implemented within the framework of MEDA II. Education and training in democratic principles are a fundamental element of sustaining a plural and democratic society. Young people, judges, the police and journalists need to have full knowledge of the rights they must exercise and defend. This is the area in which the European Union can and must cooperate. It also concerns me that Commissioner Patten, who is present, is not sufficiently sensitive to the serious problems currently faced on the southern side of the Mediterranean, where Tunisia plays a very important role. Emigration, fundamentalism, poverty and political instability cannot be resolved by pronouncements and good intentions alone. We need true political will and the economic and human resources to put it into practice. In any event – and this could serve as a summary of the debate – we cannot restrict our cooperation with third countries to purely trade and economic issues. To this end, we also ask Tunisia, together with economic reforms, also to make progress with political reforms aimed at guaranteeing freedoms, but with the aid and cooperation which, of course, they receive and will continue to receive from us, at least from my Group. We also believe that we need a common strategy in the Mediterranean, as the resolution states, and that, together with political, social and security aspects, special attention is paid to the cultural and human dimension. This is why we need to strengthen the interparliamentary dialogue and the dialogue with the representatives of civil society. As we say in my country, By talking we come to understand people’. If one thing characterises the people of the Mediterranean, it is the wealth of their thought and their words, and that, ladies and gentlemen, costs very little.

Political group: PPE-DE