Any EU deal on macrofinancial assistance for Tunisia would be conditioned to the nation's closing an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, the EU Commission said on Thursday.

"There are discussions between Tunisia and the IMF, and an agreement between them or on a program of reforms would allow for the Commission to then potentially see for a macrofinancial assistance to support Tunisia," a spokesperson for the European Commission told reporters on Thursday.

"The bottom line is there is a precondition that Tunisia would need to close first an agreement with the IMF on a package of comprehensive reforms."

The EU's top migration official is visiting Tunisia on Thursday to discuss the joint fight against traffic of migrants and illegal migration. (Reporting by Marine Strauss; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)