BackThe European Ombudsman has criticised 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 called on the Commission to set out explicit criteria for suspending EU funding.
The Commission has not published any information about the risk management exercise it relied on for the 2023 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), despite public concerns around the human rights situation in Tunisia, notably when it comes to the treatment of migrants.
The MoU includes provisions related to combating irregular migration as well as EU financial support for the provision of equipment, for training and technical support for Tunisian border management, for combatting anti-smuggling operations, and for reinforcing control of borders.
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 in fact 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. Such formal assessments are made public which can increase the effectiveness of mitigating measures to be taken against any human rights problems arising from the agreement.
The Ombudsman has called on the Commission to publish a summary of the risk management exercise on its website.
Criteria for suspending funding
In her 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 organisations 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 organisations, which include the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in order 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.
Source: The European Ombudsman
