The European Union gave Tunisia, a nation experiencing a political and economic crisis, 100 million euros on Monday.
According to a statement released by the EU office in Tunisia, the program’s “aims to help economic recovery efforts and to cement the gains already achieved in the provision of social aid to needy persons and enterprises.”
EU Ambassador Marcus Cornaro and Minister of Economy and Planning Samir Said have signed an agreement authorizing an initial payment of 40 million euros to Tunisia under this scheme.
Once “effective progress in the execution of structural changes undertaken by Tunisia” has been accomplished, the remaining funds will be released.
Cornaro said, “We want to assist Tunisian families who experience the impacts of Russian aggression against Ukraine on energy and food costs, and promote the economic recovery as best we can after the COVID-19 epidemic.”
This donation “is part of the changes agreed by Tunisia with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a future program,” the statement reads.
Since the revolution in 2011, Tunisia’s economy has struggled, with growth slowing to a crawl and unemployment skyrocketing due in large part to the Covid-19 epidemic.
The problem in Ukraine, a nation heavily reliant on imported food and gasoline in the face of skyrocketing costs, has been exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of the country in February.
Middle of October saw Tunisia get an IMF agreement in principle for a fresh loan of about $2.0 billion, to be distributed in installments beginning in December, as the country struggled under debt that exceeded 100% of GDP.
In exchange, the government has promised to implement reforms like the phased elimination of subsidized food and energy and the breakup of monopolistic state-owned businesses.
