At the Tunisian presidential palace on Sunday, Tunisia and the EU signed a memorandum of understanding for a "strategic and comprehensive partnership" touching on migration, economic development, and renewable energy. 

Accompanied by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Dutch Premier Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on both parties to engage in "effective cooperation" on matters pertaining to irregular migration, noting that greater cooperation is needed to battle "networks of smugglers and traffickers" and increase efforts in search and rescue operations.

Meloni hailed the deal as "a new and important step to deal with the migration crisis," while Rutte said both the EU and Tunisia will get shared benefits from the agreement.

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Last month, von der Leyen offered Tunisia financial assistance worth 105 million euros to support measures preventing illegal migration.

Another 150 million euros would be dispatched for immediate support, while another 900 million would serve for long-term assistance. 

The fund has yet to be released once negotiations with the IMF on a $2 billion loan are approved. 

The EU is "ready to support Tunisia" and facilitate the dispatch of the funds "as soon as the necessary conditions are met".

On June 11, Tunisia's credit rating was downgraded by Fitch to 'CCC-' from CCC+.

The agency said this downgrade "reflects uncertainty around Tunisia's ability to mobilize sufficient funding to meet its large financing requirement."

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