What should change in the EU's policies towards Tunisia? We talked to an exiled Tunisian dissident and a Belgian entrepreneur who has invested in Tunisia.

Reporter: Tunisia and the EU

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/15417788/M003-0115-EN.srt

The Tunisians are demanding  democratic reforms.

How should the EU strategy  for Tunisia and the Maghreb change?

and a Belgian entrepreneur  who has invested in Tunisia.

For Mahfoud Romdhani,  this bookshop is like a second home.

It's from here that this socialist politician,  once a political refugee,

has followed the revolution  in his country, Tunisia.

About 50 people have died overturning  the corrupt regime of President Ben Ali.

There was no press  before Ben Ali's departure.

The press was silent.  Sure, there was some information,

As soon as Ben Ali left,  the press was reborn.

It was as if a jailed man  had been let out of prison.

But another type of press to have a huge  impact was Facebook and the Internet.

That is the most pacific,  but most liberating weapon.

Jean-Pol Simon also followed  the protests in Tunisia closely.

This Belgian entrepreneur specialises  in selling photovoltaic solar panels.

In May, he opened  a marketing office in Tunisia,

He hired 15 people. During the clashes,  one of his employees lost his father.

Due to the curfew,  the working day is shorter.

Hello, Dorine,  can you still hear shooting at night?

No, no. There are fewer soldiers around.

They can only be seen in certain places,

where they've set up  permanent road checks,

because there's this outside threat  of malicious people.

Are there fewer police checks than before  the curfew... than before the revolution?

Yes, they really want us to go back  to normal life and stop being afraid.

For Romdhani, in exile for 40 years,  having been sentenced in absentia,

and rethink its development strategy  in North Africa.

With all due respect, the experts  and senior executives of the EU

Instead of giving money  to governments like these,

and engaged with them to give them  the means to organise themselves.

How do you explain  that the entire Tunisian economy

ended up in the hands  of Ben Ali's family?

And also, geographically,  along the Mediterranean coast?

The rest of the country was completely  ignored by the Tunisian government,

to sign an Association Agreement  with the EU in '95.

The EU is still the country's  main trading partner.

In 2008, European exports, mainly  in machinery, amounted to 9 billion euros.

What I'd like to be able  to expect from the EU

is for them to create synergies  between Europe and Africa,

so that both continents can benefit from  the advantages the other can bring.

But according to this Tunisian dissident,

we should take matters  beyond economic partnership.

Romdhani was one of the first North  Africans to have been elected deputy.

He's now a member  of Brussels' town council

Tunisian and Arab intellectuals  are suffering.

They cannot find their rightful place  in their own country,

given their advanced level of education.

If Europe were to open its borders,  these people wouldn't be homeless.

They'd be coming here to help us  and those back home.

They'd be the bridge  between Europe and the Mediterranean.