Effectiveness and Potential of European Trade and Assistance Policies in the South Mediterranean Neighbourhood in the Fields of Agriculture, Water and Rural Development: The Case of Tunisia

This paper is part of a series of working papers to assess EU policies in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries from a bottom-up perspective as part of the MEDRESET project. The focus of this paper will be on challenges and policies applied in the agriculture and water sectors in Tunisia. Special consideration will be given to the problems of international trade, particularly the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. The methodology used includes content analysis, literature review and face-to-face interviews with relevant local stakeholders in the agriculture and water sectors. In particular, the paper will provide the following: (i) a clear assessment of the problems and obstacles that are currently affecting the performance of the water and agriculture sectors, (ii) an outline of the national and EU policy actions in the sectors; (iii) a qualitative analysis of stakeholder frames in the area of agriculture and water based on 27 interviews; and lastly (iv) how EU policies in Tunisia may be improved or replaced according to the needs of the sector.