On 8 May, the services of the European Commission and the European External Action Service published the report on the state of EU-Tunisia relations, according to which over the last 12 months, the EU and Tunisia have developed much closer relations and stepped up their cooperation in the various fields covered by the Privileged Partnership.

Through this report, the European Union is reiterating its determination to continue supporting Tunisia and exploring the vision for the future of the EU-Tunisia partnership. It takes stock of the different dialogue and cooperative tracks on key issues such as youth employability and reforms, consolidating democracy and promoting good governance (in which Tunisian civil society continues to play a central role), the response to common security challenges and the coordinated management of migration.

The report underlines the substantial progress that has been made in several fields, such as women’s rights, judicial reform, measures to promote youth entrepreneurship, local development, the green economy, culture and civil protection. In the field of education, as part of the Horizon 2020 programme and Erasmus+, Tunisia has increased the exchanges between researchers, students, teachers and young people, contributing to the development of an innovation-oriented society.

Some important negotiations on bilateral agreements are progressing in the field of air transport, economics and trade, and migration.

It is worth recalling that the report comes ahead of the EU-Tunisia Association Council in Brussels on 15 May 2018.