EU-Tunisia agreement: Ombudsman says Commission lacked transparency on its analysis of respect for human rights

Brussels – The European Ombudsman has criticized the Commission for not being transparent about the human rights information it relied on before signing an agreement with Tunisia that includes EU funds for border management. She also urged the Commission to set explicit criteria for suspending EU funding.

The Ombudsman argues that the Commission has not published any information on the risk management exercise it relied on for the 2023 Memorandum of Understanding, despite public concerns about the human rights situation in Tunisia, notably on the treatment of migrants.

The MoU includes provisions on combating irregular migration and EU financial support for equipment, training, and technical support for Tunisian border management, combating anti-smuggling operations, and strengthening border control.

In an inquiry, the Ombudsman found that despite repeated claims that it was not required to conduct an explicit human rights impact assessment (HRIA) before signing the agreement, the Commission had already completed a similar assessment exercise.

“While it is positive that the Commission had verified the human rights situation in Tunisia, including through reports from the EU delegation in the country, a formal human rights impact assessment of the deal would have been preferable,” the Ombudsman argued. Such formal assessments are made public and can increase the effectiveness of mitigating measures to be taken against any human rights problems arising from the agreement. The Ombudsman invited the Commission to post a summary of the risk management exercise on its website.

In the inquiry findings, the Ombudsman stressed that “the Commission has an obligation to ensure EU funds do not support actions that violate human rights.” She asked the Commission to set out and publish concrete criteria for when it would suspend EU funding to projects in Tunisia due to human rights violations.

The Commission “should also encourage organizations monitoring human rights in Tunisia to set up complaint mechanisms where individuals can report alleged violations of their human rights in the implementation of the funds.” The Commission relies on reports from these organizations, which include the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to identify human rights violations.

Noting that it is difficult for the public to have a complete picture of the human rights situation, the Ombudsman asked the Commission “to compile information on monitoring it in a single document, publish the document, and update it regularly.”