The EU is already implementing projects together with Italian, French and German state apparatus development partners to strengthen the Tunisian navy and coast guard’s capacities to intercept migrants at sea, several documents and a European Commission spokesperson confirmed to Euractiv.
The projects were approved before the EU-Tunisia Memorandum of Understanding that was signed in July 2023, and is currently in an early stage of implementation, Euractiv understands.
The development partners include the French Ministry of Interior operational arm Civipol, the German Federal Police, the Italian Ministry of Interior and the Vienna-based organisation the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD).
In particular, the Tunisian authorities are building a Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) with the support of the EU and its development partners, a European Commission spokesperson told Euractiv. An MRCC is the first point of contact for incidents at sea in international waters – all countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea except Tunisia already have one in operation.
“The next steps envisaged by Tunisian authorities in this area include declaring a SAR [Search and Rescue] zone – a national competency – alongside formally recognising the MRCC, implementing radar installations along the coast, and developing a SAR plan,” the Commission spokesperson explained.
From the moment that a plane or boat observes or receives a signal of distress from a vessel at sea, it is a legal obligation for the interceptor to flag the sighting to all close boats and MRCCs – usually also through the radio emergency channel 16.
The so-called SAR zones are parts of international waters (which begin 12 nautical miles from the coasts). There is no national sovereignty in SAR zones, though countries can be assigned an area to observe, to facilitate coordination and enable rescues to be performed in the shortest time possible.
The projects
The German federal police and ICMPD are implementing a €13.5 million project to support the Tunisian coast guard. The project focuses on training to improve their capacity to manage maritime borders and interception activities. The project started in January 2023 and it is foreseen to be concluded in June 2026.
As ICMPD told Euractiv last year, two different centres for training the Tunisian authorities were inaugurated in November 2023, under this project.
Source: Euractiv
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