European Commission accused of ‘bankrolling dictators’ by MEPs after Tunisia deal

Members of justice committee say 150m in EU funding went straight to country's president, Kais Saied

The European Commission has been accused of bankrolling dictators" by senior MEPs who have claimed that the 150m it gave to Tunisia last year in a migration and development deal has ended up directly in the president's hands.

A group of MEPs on the human rights, justice and foreign affairs committees at the European parliament launched a scathing attack on the executive in Brussels, expressing anxiety over reports that the commission's president, Ursula von der Leyen, was about to seal a similar deal with Egypt.