The EU may extend its naval military operation Irini off Libya to include Tunisia, as a further means to prevent people from fleeing on boats towards Italy. For the EU, that equates to a military operation launched in early 2020 to implement an UN arms embargo on Libya. An agreement over the summer with Tunisia had also been billed by von der Leyen as a blueprint for future deals. Saied had earlier this week declined to accept EU funds after the European Commission had wired €60m into the Tunis treasury. The apparent acrimony could complicate relations between Tunisia and the European Union, posing questions on whether Tunis would ever agree to having European warships enters its territorial waters.
