Tunis/Brussels, 11 June 2023 (dpa/MIA) – The EU commission says it is considering supporting Tunisia with an aid package of up to €900 million ($967.8 million) as the North African country is roiled by economic woes and rising numbers of migrants using it as a launch pad to reach Europe.

The package was announced Sunday by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who also said the European Union is to provide Tunisia with €105 million for the year 2023 to curb irregular migration.

The money is meant to support Tunisia in border management, search and rescue as well as anti-smuggling operations and returns, she added in Tunis.

The support is nearly three times the annual average of EU migration funding for Tunisia of the past two years, the commission said.

The EU and Tunisia "both have a vast interest in breaking the cynical business model of smugglers and traffickers," von der Leyen said, speaking alongside Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Meloni, who has long pushed for agreements with Tunisia to stop migrant boats from leaving, spoke of an "important first step."

Tunisia is mired in its worst economic crisis in decades. The population is struggling with rising prices and food shortages as well as high unemployment.

The financial support would be provided "as soon as the necessary agreement is found," von der Leyen said.

In addition, the commission could immediately provide €150 million in budget support, she added.

The three officials had earlier Sunday met with Tunisian President Kais Saied in Tunis to also discuss increasing numbers of irregular migrants arriving in Italy.

The visit was Meloni’s second trip to Tunisia this week.

In an interview on Friday, she expressed hope that an aid package from the EU could be brought with her on Sunday.

Meloni moreover called on Tunisia and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to work more pragmatically on a solution so that the country can get a bailout 1.9 billion dollar loan.

This is "crucial to strengthen the country and its full recovery," Meloni said.

Saied rejects the reforms demanded by the IMF and said they could cause the situation to "explode" with serious consequences for stability of Tunisia and the region.

Many Tunisians trying to make the perilous journey across the Mediterranean to Italy are being pushed to migrate by the worsening economic crisis and high levels of unemployment.

More than 53,800 migrants reached Italy by sea since the beginning of the year, up from 21,700 by the same time last year, according to the Italian Interior Ministry.

Saied said on Saturday that his country would not act as a guard for other countries.

"We can’t play the role disclosed by some and concealed by others that we should be guards to their countries," Saied said after a tour of the Tunisian coastal city of Sfax, a major launchpad for migrants heading to Italy.

He added that the solution for migration should be humanitarian and collective.

"We don’t accept that anyone is dealt with inhumanely," he said in a video released by the Tunisian presidency. "They [migrants] are unfortunately victims of a world system that does not treat them as humans, but as mere figures," he added.

During the tour, Saied was seen talking to some migrants.

Most of the migrants recently registering in Italy came from Tunisia, according to the UN refugee agency UNHCR. Growing numbers of migrants have sought to leave Tunisia since Saied announced tougher crackdowns on them in February.

At the time, he accused them of bringing violence and crime into the country. Since then, hostilities and racist attacks have increased.