BRUSSELS, Sept 15, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - The EU ombudsman demanded Friday that

Brussels explain how it will ensure that its pact with Tunisia to curb
migration will not breach human rights standards.

The Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, is an independent overseer employed to handle
complaints about the work of EU institutions and agencies and to investigate
alleged administrative failures.

"Where fundamental rights are not respected, there cannot be good
administration," she said.

In July, the European Union signed a deal to provide financial assistance and
practical cooperation to Tunisia -- the main launchpad for undocumented
migrants making the dangerous sea crossing to Italy.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, Italy's Prime Minister
Giorgia Meloni and the Netherlands' Mark Rutte hailed the deal as a way to
fight "networks of smugglers and traffickers".

But international human rights organisations and some MEPs have criticised
Brussels for forming an anti-migration partnership with President Kais
Saied's increasingly authoritarian regime.

In recent months hundreds of migrants arrested in Tunisia have allegedly been
dropped off in the desert near the Libya border and left to fend for
themselves.
Against this backdrop, O'Reilly said von der Leyen's European Commission has
some explaining to do.

"Did the Commission carry out a human rights impact assessment of the MoU
before its conclusion and consider possible measures to mitigate risks of
human rights violations," the ombudsman asked, in a letter to von der Leyen.

"If yes, could the Commission make this impact assessment public, along with
the mitigating measures? If not, please set out the rationale for this."

O'Reilly noted that she had raised these concerns when Brussels signed a
similar pact with Turkey, and warned the EU regulations stipulate that any
funding provided to partner countries must not be spent in ways that breach
migrants' human rights.

"How does the Commission plan to ensure that actions undertaken by Tunisia
under the Migration and mobility pillar of the MoU and financed using EU
funds will comply with the applicable human rights standards?" she asked.

Earlier this week, the European Commission was forced to defend the Tunisian
migration pact in parliament, where it has come under fire from MEPs from the
left and the Greens.

"This is an investment in our shared prosperity, stability, and in the future
generations," commissioner Oliver Varhelyi told the European Parliament in
Strasbourg.

He said it reinforced cooperation that has already seen the Tunisian coast
guard intercept nearly 24,000 boats headed for Europe this year, compared
with some 9,000 last year.

But the row flared up again on Thursday when Tunisia barred entry to a fact-
finding delegation from the European Parliament, following a non-binding
resolution condemning the government's "authoritarian drift".