The European Parliament has on Thursday, September 14, said that Tunisia denied five EU lawmakers entry into the country.

This comes between ongoing debates about a migration-related aid deal signed this summer.

In July, Brussels offered Tunis one billion Euros worth of aid in the controversial deal, attractively aimed at obstructing irregular migration to the EU, and was signed in spite of allegations of human rights abuses by the Tunisian government.

The agreement, which came with conditions that Tunisia has yet to meet, is meant as a reason for Tunisia to control departures of migrants trying to reach EU countries by sea.

The parliamentarians planned to meet with civil society representatives in Tunis from Thursday, September 14 to Saturday, September 16, after requests for meetings with the government were rejected.

According to Dietmar Köster, a German Social-democrat and member of the delegation, the aim of the trip was to gather information about political backsliding in Tunisia on democratic standards and human rights.