 In 1783 he led the negotiations with the Habsburg envoy Ludwig von Cobenzl on freedom of navigation in Istria and Dalmatia.On 6 March 1784 he was elected as "Capitano Straordinario delle Navi" (commander-in-chief of the sailing fleet) against the Beylik of Tunis, which had declared war on the Republic after a Venetian ship laden with goods from the Barbary coast was burned by the authorities in Malta due to it being infected with the plague.On 21 June, Emo sailed from Venice for Corfu at the head of a squadron composed of the ships of the line "Fama", "Forza", and "Palma", the frigates "Concordia", "Sirena", "Brillante", "Pallade", and "Venere", the xebec "Triton", the bombards "Distruzione" and "Polonia", the galiot "Esploratore", and the hospital ship "Kav.