EU follows developments in Tunisia with ‘great concern’

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) – The EU is following the developments in Tunisia “with great concern” as the North African country is experiencing “difficult times,” the European Commission’s spokesperson said on Tuesday.

“The European Union has been following the developments very closely and with great concern in Tunisia,” Nabila Massrali, the spokesperson of foreign affairs, replied at the European Commission’s daily news briefing to a question about the recent wave of arrests targeting the critics of President Kais Saied.

She said the country “is going through difficult times” and expressed hope that the “Tunisian authorities will find the right answers for the numerous challenges” with the involvement of “all social and political stakeholders.”

“The European Union is ready and willing to support unity and efforts when it comes to structural changes,” Massrali further said.

EU foreign ministers will discuss the situation in Tunisia at their meeting on March 20.

A wave of arrests, targeting the critics of the Tunisian president, started on Feb. 11.

According to Saied, the detainees – politicians, journalists, activists, judges, and business people – are responsible for “conspiring against state security” and thus raising the price of basic commodities.

Tunisia has been in a deep political crisis since July 2021, when Saied ousted the government and dissolved the parliament.

Since then, Saied held a referendum to draft a new Constitution last July and parliamentary elections last December.

While the Tunisian leader insists that his measures were meant to "save" the country, critics have accused him of orchestrating a coup.