A cross-party delegation of six MEPs admit they were shocked by conditions for refugees in Tunisia and demand EU action to resettle them.

MEPs demand EU action for refugees in Tunisia

Shousha refugee camp  on Tunisia’s border with Libya

Not as many as in the early days  of the Libyan conflict,

but still a lot facing heat, sandstorms  and inadequate access to clean water.

The six MEPs of a cross-party delegation  believe the EU should be doing more.

It’s up to us now as Europeans to carry  the responsibility for these people,

and I think it’s a sign of...  ..a goodwill gesture that we could do

to resettle these people  amongst the 27 Member States of the EU

we appreciate all they’ve done  with the people coming from Libya.

Tunisia was where the Arab Spring began  but there’s still unrest.

An election planned for this month  has been postponed until 23 October,

and even that is only for a constituent  assembly to rewrite the constitution.

Yet Tunisia is coping with refugees from  the conflict in Libya without much EU help.

The French ambassador refused to answer.

The UK ambassador gave a very full  and I think effective response.

He was very clear that  we had not taken any resettled refugees

and he made it clear that he would send  that message back to London.

The situation in Tunisia has been  under discussion by EU Foreign Ministers,

but no-one is yet offering  to take in the refugees.

MEPs want the EU to be  as generous to Tunisia

as the US, Canada  and Norway have been,

and they insist that all the institutions  take action after the summer recess.