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Tunisia: Countries
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Mediterranean partners, including Tunisia, have been invited to open negotiations with the EU on deepening liberalisation of trade in agriculture, including processed agricultural and fisheries products. The Association Agreement foresees a widening of its scope to cover the right of establishment and the liberalisation of services. Services and establishment negotiations with a first wave of interested Mediterranean countries have been launched in March 2006 and are ongoing. Likewise, negotiations to establish a dispute settlement mechanism in the trade domain are under way with Tunisia and other Meds.
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Tunisia is situated in the most northern point of Africa with Algeria to its west and Libya to its southeast. It is a small country with a long coastline on the Mediterranean Sea. Although almost fifty percent of the country is desert Tunisia is a fertile land with vineyards, olive groves and citrus fruits. It is a major producer of cork. After the winter rains the lower slopes of the mountains and hills are carpeted with spring flowers.
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In the 1990s Tunisia continued to follow a moderate, nonaligned course in foreign relations, complicated by sporadic difficulties with its immediate neighbors. Relations with Libya remained tense after ties were resumed in 1987. However, Ben Ali pursued normalized relations, which dramatically improved over the next few years. Thousands of Tunisians found work in Libya as the border was reopened. In 1992 the UN Security Council imposed sanctions against Libya due to its decision to not hand over for trial suspects in the Pan Am bombing affair. Tunisia did not wholeheartedly support all of the UN Security Council sanctions due to the real economic ties that the two countries have.
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Despite the Government of Tunisia's stated committed to making progress toward a democratic system, citizens do not enjoy political freedom. The government imposes restrictions on freedom of association and speech and does not allow a free press. Many critics have called for clearer, effective distinctions between executive, legislative, and judicial powers. Foreign media, including foreign-based satellite television channels, have criticized the Tunisian Government for the lack of press freedom. Tunisia ranked number 148 out of 167 countries in the 2006 Reporters Without Borders list of World Press Freedom rankings. As reflected in the State Department's annual human rights report, there are frequent reports of widespread torture and abuse of prisoners, especially political prisoners.
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Tunisia's 1959 constitution provides authority to the president to appoint the prime minister and the executive Council of Ministers, as well as the country's 24 governors. The legislative Chamber of Deputies, a popularly elected unicameral body, is mostly dominated by the RCD, which holds 148 of the 182 seats; members of the seven legal opposition parties fill the remaining seats. Freedoms of the press, association, and expression are extremely restricted; the authorities often cite security concerns as a pretext for repression of political dissent and critical discourse across the political spectrum. Political prisoners and journalists are often subjected to arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detention, torture, unfair trials, and harsh prison conditions.
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Although the mining, energy, tourism, and manufacturing sectors of the economy are important, and the country has become increasingly middle class, over half of Tunisia's workers are engaged in farming. The agricultural sector... accounts for less than 15% of the GDP. The leading crops are olives, wheat, barley, tomatoes, citrus, sugar beets, dates, and almonds. Livestock raising and fishing are also important. Because irrigation is inadequate, agricultural production varies widely according to rainfall.
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