Germany and Tunisia agree migrants and aid deal

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi have agreed a deal under which rejected asylum seekers will be repatriated to Tunisia much faster and Germany will provide 250m euros ($264m; £215m) in aid for job training and support for small businesses.

The agreement, announced during Mrs Merkel's visit to Tunis, has followed tensions over the case of the Tunisian identified as having carried out the Berlin Christmas market attack last year.

The attacker, Anis Amri, who was later shot dead by police, had been facing deportation from Germany for months but remained there because of a delay in receiving paperwork from Tunisia confirming his identity.

Under today's deal, Tunisia has agreed to resolve the identities of about 1,500 Tunisian asylum seekers in Germany within 30 days. Correspondents say the expectation is that they would then be deported.

The 30-day period will also apply for future asylum seekers, and papers needed for deportation would be issued by Tunisia within a week.

Mrs Merkel suggested Germany would help Tunisia upgrade its administrative systems to enable these processes.

Referring to the aid, Mrs Merkel said: 

"The funds are for rural development, small and medium enterprises, but mainly for youths... who especially need job training and employment opportunities."

Source: BBC