WRITTEN QUESTION E-2597/00 by Pervenche Berès (PSE) to the Commission. EU-Tunisia relations.
Date: 2000-08-01
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU aid, EU programme, Tunisia, association agreement (EU), cooperation agreement, democratisation, economic agreement, human rights, mass media, non-governmental organisation

C 81 E/212

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.3.2001

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(22 September 2000)

The Commission is not aware how it was possible for the content of a draft answer to be known in the
Honourable Member(cid:146)s country before the answer had been sent to the Honourable Member and to
Parliament. Until the answer was formally adopted by the Commission as a college it had no official value.

(2001/C 81 E/272)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2597/00

by Pervenche BerŁs (PSE) to the Commission

(1 August 2000)

Subject: EU-Tunisia relations

Human rights violations in Tunisia are a source of great concern. It is incumbent on the international
community and in particular the EU to encourage the Tunisian Government to greater tolerance and
respect for freedoms.

The recent hunger strike by the journalist Ben Brik has highlighted the pressures on those campaigning for
greater democracy in Tunisia.

On 15 June Parliament adopted a resolution calling for a greater openness on the part of the Tunisian
authorities, and asking the EU-Tunisia Association Council to carry out a joint evaluation of respect for
human rights in Tunisia, in the spirit of Article 2 of the Agreement.

On 23 June 2000 the Commission met a Tunisian delegation in the framework of the association
committee to study the cooperation agreements between Tunisia and the Union. The day before,
Commissioner Fischler had talks with Mr Rabah, the Tunisian Minister of Fisheries. From the information
that has emerged on these two meetings, it would appear that only economic matters were discussed.

Without denying the importance of the latter, I am surprised at the one-sided nature of these talks.

Economic development will be of benefit to Tunisian society only if it is accompanied by the establishment
of a genuinely democratic regime.

What is the Commission(cid:146)s explanation of this attitude which is contrary both to the spirit and the letter of
the Association Agreement?

What action does the Commission intend to take to comply with the requirements made by Parliament in
its resolution of 15 June?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(11 September 2000)

As the Commission announced during the debate preceding the vote in part-session of the resolution of
15 June on Tunisia, and in line with the content of the resolution, action will be taken under the
EU-Tunisia Association Agreement. The Agreement has two instruments which can be used as a priority,
to bring both partners closer together, political dialogue and financial cooperation. The first instrument
has, among other things, already led to an exchange of views on respect for human rights at the
Association Committee meeting on 23 June. Consultations are also being held under the second, to create
two programmes to support non-governmental organisations and the media.