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Most viewed in Foreign affairs
South Sudan wants EU to send troopsChief negotiator calls for EU involvement in strengthened UN force to end conflict with Sudan. |
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Catherine Ashton, the European Union's foreign policy chief, plans to travel to Tunisia on Monday (14 February), the most senior EU official to do so since a popular uprising toppled Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, the country's autocratic leader, on 14 January. Ben Ali's ousting has inspired protest movements across the Arab world.
The EU has pledged to support the country's transition to democracy, most immediately through assistance to elections scheduled for June. Ashton discussed international assistance with members of the United Nations Security Council in New York on Tuesday (8 February). She said that Tunisia would receive “practical” assistance in redrafting the constitution and organising free and fair elections, and aid to rebuild the economy.
EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Friday (4 February) asked Ashton to “adapt rapidly” the EU's instruments to respond to democratic change in the region and to draft a package of support measures. This includes granting Tunisia ‘advanced status' in its relations with the EU.
William Hague, the UK's foreign minister, held talks with Mohammed Ghannouchi, Tunisia's interim prime minister, in Tunis on Tuesday (8 February). Hague, the highest-ranking Western official to visit the country since Ben Ali's ousting, announced an Arab Partnership Fund to support reform efforts across the region, primarily in the fields of justice, freedom of expression, democratic institutions and civil society. The UK has pledged €5.9 million to the fund.
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