Shifting borders: The implications of EU migration externalisation in Tunisia

By Dania Yousfi | OMC 2025

Sub-Saharan migrants remain stranded in camps in El Amra, Sfax, amid dire living conditions, as a result of tightened border controls in Tunisia. Shared with permission of the author: Yassine Gaidi/ Anadolu Agency, May 2024

‘There is a criminal plot to change the demographic composition of Tunisia.’. These were the words of the Tunisian President Kais Saied during a meeting of the National Security Council on 21 February 2023. The Tunisian President has stirred up controversy among Tunisian citizens and human rights organisations after describing the new waves of sub-Saharan migrants as a threat to national security and an attempt to change the cultural and religious identity of Tunisians. He declared, ‘the implicit objective behind the successive waves of irregular migration is to consider Tunisia simply as an African country that does not belong to the Arab and Muslim communities’. Reminding us of the “Great Replacement” theory of European far-right parties, Saied paves a way for a securitisation approach to migration, primarily because he considers irregular migrants as a source of ‘violence, crime and unacceptable behaviour’. 

This governmentality of fear exceeds mere national politics to serve as an instrument for a greater policy scheme that is that of the EU (European Union). In fact, the EU’s willingness to shift its borders, so that it hovers over neighbouring countries, is a strategy that places funding and financial aid in a pivotal role. It is of no surprise that the timing of the president's speech and declarations come simultaneously with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), between Tunisia and the EU in July 2023.  

The MoU stipulates, ‘The European Union shall endeavour to provide sufficient additional financial support, in particular for the provision of equipment, training and technical support necessary to further improve the management of Tunisia's borders.’. The EU pledged a total of €105 million in immediate support for migration control and border management in Tunisia. Therefore, this memorandum opened the door for an outsourcing of borders, since it aimed at reinforcing the instruments that hinder irregular migrants from reaching the other side of the Mediterranean. Tunisia proceeded to create a search and rescue (SAR) zone on 19 June  2024, to intercept irregular migrants trying to reach Europe.  

This financial and technical support has witnessed different forms in the past in the context of bilateral cooperation between Tunisia and the EU. Italy has been a prominent supplier to Tunisia, as it donated, for instance, 50 4x4 all-road vehicles to the Tunisian National Guard in 2019 and supplied them with 100 Nissan Navarro pick-ups in 2023. Other European countries have also followed in Italy’s footsteps, mainly Germany and France.  

This cooperation exceeds financial support to cover the development of Tunisian border surveillance technologies, like the introduction of the automatic finger identification system (AFIS) and the implementation of the Integrated Maritime Surveillance System (ISMaris). Training of authorities involved in controlling irregular migration and the reinforcement of their capacities is equally part of this outsourcing of European border management.  

In fact, the definition of externalisation in economic science is ‘the outsourcing of an activity to an external entity or subcontractor in exchange for payment’. In the context of EU migration management, it can be defined as ‘the transfer of activities to a third country or a non-state actor’.  Consequently, migrants’ interception witnessed a recent surge according to the Tunisian National Guard, who have reported intercepting 21,454 migrants between January and 30 April 2024, compared to 17,576 during the same period in the previous year.  

It is important to note that internalised borders have become an established practice in Tunisia. In fact, the Tunisian authorities have created checkpoints in departure points inside the country, at locations such as the island of Kerkennah, in order to prevent irregular crossings to Europe. Citizens were obliged to provide proof of residence and/or an employer’s authorisation to enter the island. Therefore, the island of Kerkennah, which constitutes a part of the country, has become what a Tunisian sailor living there referred to as ‘a state within a state’. It is in this regard that we can notice a drastic shift in borders, since ‘[t]he Kerkennah Islands, once a tranquil haven, have become like a European country’.

The president’s speech has triggered an outburst of violence against sub-Saharan migrants in Tunisia. Many of them have reported feeling unsafe in a country where they were represented as a potential national threat. Hostile residents chased them from their homes, assaulted and stabbed them. The local media contributed significantly to the surge of racism and discrimination, as negative headlines dominated Tunisian print and audio-visual outlets. The presence of sub-Saharan migrants was frequently associated with a rhetoric of colonisation, criminality and conspiracy. 

In addition to the growing violence, this externalisation strategy has resulted in a ‘refoulement by proxy’, to which the European Union is turning a blind eye, in order to protect its borders and halt irregular migration. In fact, human rights activists and organisations have criticised the numerous “desert dumps” carried out by Tunisian security forces. Reports have shown that groups of sub-Saharan migrants, who also included pregnant women and children, were abandoned in the desert close to the Algerian and Libyan borders, after their interception. These collective expulsions place migrants at heightened risk of human trafficking, abduction, and sexual violence. In the same context, Tunisian judicial authorities arbitrarily detained several members of migrant aid associations under the pretext of the fight against terrorism, as Saied accused them of being “traitors”. They were also accused of the repression of money laundering, since they provided “financial support to illegal migrants”.    

Reports on migrants' abuse in Tunisia reveal a breach of human rights, where cases of beatings and rape have been recorded, so much so it triggered a reaction from the EU Ombudsman , who urged the European Commission to carry an evaluation of the MoU implementation in Tunisia, to ensure that human rights were not violated. 

In essence, Tunisia’s approach to the securitisation of migration has backfired, exacerbating socio-economic insecurity, both among Tunisians who feel threatened and sub-Saharan migrants who feel unsafe. The externalisation of European borders to Tunisia came at the expense of the values of the EU, its obligations under international law, and the protection of migrants' fundamental human rights. The outsourcing of migration management has thus become an outsourcing of human rights violations.  

Dania Yousfi

Dania currently works as an interpreter and social worker with the French Red Cross in Paris. She holds a master's degree in European Policies from the University of Parma in Italy. Dania has worked on EU migration and neighbourhood policies, she has professional experience with the United Nations, the European Parliament, and international non-governmental organizations focused on EU–South cooperation.