The popular uprisings and mass protests in Tunisia and Egypt were the main topics in the German news for many days. There were special programmes, live ticker feeds on the Internet and the reports of the demonstrations on the streets of Tunis and at Tahrir Square in Cairo filled several pages of the newspapers every day. Tunisia and Egypt’s move towards democracy also touched people in Germany and determined political discussion during the first weeks of 2011. The calls of people in many other Arab countries for free elections, political change and better employment prospects are being attentively and eagerly followed in Germany.
The largely peaceful uprising from the centre of society is considered by many commentators to be the outstanding event in recent Arab history: the spark of freedom has ignited an entire region. The mass protests have overturned the authoritarian regimes in Tunis and Cairo. The path to free elections and democratic structures now appears to be open in both countries. Germany sees itself as a partner of the fresh political start in North Africa. Together with the European Union and other countries in the international community, the Federal Government has offered Tunisia and Egypt help in achieving an ordered and sustainable political transition. Federal Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle emphasized that Tunisians and Egyptians must shape their future themselves. At the same time, however, he made clear: “It is in the interest of Germany and Europe for this region in our immediate neighbourhood to develop towards democracy. That is why we are offering our support.”
In concrete terms, this involves a so-called “transformation partnership” with Tunisia and Egypt. Germany wants to make a contribution towards the development of democratic parties, towards dialogue on the rule of law, towards the modernization of the judiciary, the establishment of a fair and transparent electoral system, the strengthening of civil society and the promotion of the work of free and independent media. Federal Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle reaffirmed this support for the democratic transformation on 23 and 24 February when he travelled to Cairo together with Development Minister Dirk Niebel. “This is a very touching moment,” said Westerwelle during a visit to Tahrir Square that received a highly sympathetic response from the local population. He said the development of economic opportunities was now important so that the people in Egypt could see that more democracy would also lead to greater prosperity for themselves. Earlier, on 11 February, the foreign minister had visited Tunisia, where he met with representatives of politics, business and civil society. Westerwelle also offered economic cooperation, for example, in the energy sector and in the field of vocational education.
In light of the wave of refugees from Tunisia to Europe, Westerwelle argued for improving the living conditions in the countries of North Africa through economic investment and facilitating access to European markets for products from the region. The minister said that the demonstrators had gone on the streets not only for democracy, but also for work and future opportunities. As part of its “transformation partnership” Germany has set up a 3.25-million-euro endowment fund for the promotion of democracy in North Africa, which is intended to support democratic development in the next two years. Germany is also making available an additional eight million euros for vocational education in order to improve the prospects of the many young people who have no employment opportunities. Additionally, 20 million euros is being made available as financial aid for local industry and businesses in the whole region. Youth and student exchange programmes are also to receive support.////
