The EU finalized an agreement with Tunisia on Sunday to boost trade relations and stem migrant departures from the African country to Europe.
Under the deal, which the European Commission had been struggling to push over the line, the EU is to provide cash to Tunis in exchange for stronger border controls.
Exact financial details of the agreement were not given in the EU statement on Sunday. But Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said last month that the EU was ready to provide Tunisia with more than €1 billion in areas including trade, investment and energy cooperation.
The statement said the agreement covers five pillars: migration, macro-economic stability, trade and investment, green energy transition, and people-to-people contacts.
"Our teams have worked very hard to deliver rapidly on a strong package, which is an investment in our shared prosperity, stability and in future generations," von der Leyen said in a tweet on Sunday.
Von der Leyen traveled to Tunisia on Sunday along with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to meet again with Tunisian President Kais Saied. A similar meeting last month failed to propel the talks to conclusion before a late June EU leaders’ summit as had been hoped.