Tunisia Summons EU Ambassador To Protest Union Meeting

Tunisian President Kais Saied has demanded the presence of the EU ambassador after accusing him of breaching diplomatic norms by meeting the head of the country’s most influential trade union. The episode adds to a growing list of disputes between Tunisia’s authorities and foreign partners regarding the government’s dealings with civic and opposition groups.

Earlier in the week, EU envoy Giuseppe Perrone held talks with UGTT leader Noureddine Taboubi, where he highlighted the union’s Nobel Peace Prize recognition from 2015 and expressed support for stronger engagement with Tunisia’s civil society.

“Saied conveyed a strongly worded protest over the failure to adhere to diplomatic protocols and acting outside the official channels,” the presidency said in a statement on Wednesday.

In recent months, the Tunisian government has intensified pressure on civil-society organisations, leading to the shutdown of several groups such as Democratic Women, Nawaat Journalists, and the Economic and Social Forum.

Amnesty International has warned that the state’s actions have reached an alarming point, citing arbitrary arrests, detentions, frozen assets, banking obstacles, and formal suspensions affecting 14 organisations.

Although the UGTT — which counts around a million members — has not been directly targeted, the union has repeatedly complained about shrinking labour freedoms and about the government abandoning agreed-upon commitments without consultation.

The organisation announced earlier this month that it was ready to call a nationwide strike “in defence of trade union rights,” amid a severe economic and political downturn that has triggered demonstrations from opposition parties, journalists, unions, medical workers, and banking staff.

Ties between Tunisia and the EU, its biggest trading partner and long-time ally, have deteriorated significantly since Saied assumed sweeping powers in 2021 and began governing through decrees — a move opponents describe as a coup.