Tunisian President Kais Saied has postponed a planned visit by a European Commission (EC) delegation to the country to a later date, which is to be agreed between the two sides, the presidency said.
The country's leader instructed the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to convey the decision to the European delegation, without specifying the reasons.
Budgetary Aid
On Friday, the European Commission announced €60 million ($63 million) in budgetary aid to Tunisia and almost €67 million ($70 million) in aid to migrants. These measures are intended to reduce the number of migrants coming from the North African country. The visit of the EC delegation was also under discussion.
On September 19, President Saied had expressed his total rejection of hosting foreign delegations on his territory, calling them "colonial inspections." He also pointed out that Tunisia could send "representatives of civil society to monitor freedom of the press and expression in these countries," without specifying their names.
"They [the EU] should halt these delegations that would like to inspect us, as if we were colonies or under a protectorate," said the leader in a televised statement.
He stressed that his country could "do the same thing" and would not "accept that they undermine our sovereignty, because our actions are carried out with full transparency, even more than those of the states whose history we know well, especially when they colonized African countries."