No Med Union HQ for Tunisia unless it commits to democracy & rights

29 April 2008

Commenting on President Sarkozy’s visit to Tunisia, where he is reported to be going to propose to have the headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean, PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen said:

“If democracy and human rights is going to be an important part of the Union for the Mediterranean – and I believe they must be – then Tunisia is a poor choice for the headquarters. I am open to the idea of putting the HQ in the southern or eastern Mediterranean, but Tunisia has a bad record when it comes to freedom of the press, to freedom of association and harassment of legal opposition political parties.”

“The European Union has been too quiet for too long about the situation in Tunisia. It has not made any serious demands for democratic progress. It seems to have been willing to keep quiet as long as the Government managed to keep the country under control. That seems to have been the European Union’s line not only towards Tunisia but also to the rest of North Africa.”

“The Union for the Mediterranean must be a vehicle for democratic change. I call on the forthcoming French Presidency to take the opportunity to make this a reality. My appeal to President Sarkozy is propose another country for the HQ unless Tunisia makes a real, concrete and determined commitment to freedom of the press, freedom of association, more democracy and human rights.”

“The European Union can and must encourage positive change. The only way to do so is to show the consequences.”

The headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean is due to be chosen at the European Council in July, at the start of the French Presidency, with the participation of Mediterranean Heads of State / Government.

The EU’s first framework for cooperation with the Mediterranean region was the ‘Barcelona process’ launched in 1995 with the aim of creating peace and democracy throughout the Mediterranean region as well as closer economic and cultural ties between the EU and all Mediterranean nations. The PES believes that the proposed Union for the Mediterranean must maintain the same emphasis on the original ‘Barcelona process’ aims.