Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The European Union Council has formally adopted a decision to provide up to €500 million in macro-financial assistance to Jordan.
According to a European statement distributed in Brussels, the EU's assistance will strengthen Jordan's economic stability and support its ongoing reform agenda in the face of mounting internal and external challenges. It will help the country meet its existing external financing needs while providing the fiscal space necessary to sustain its reform efforts.
This assistance, provided in response to Jordan's request for additional support in October 2023, will be available for two and a half years and will be provided in the form of concessional loans, granted on terms that allow Jordan to repay them over an extended period, including a possible grace period. The loans will be disbursed in three installments.
The new support to Jordan will be provided according to the conditions set out in a Memorandum of Understanding between Jordan and the European Commission. The disbursement of the installments will depend on Jordan's progress on the reforms specified in the Memorandum of Understanding. In addition, Jordan must continue to support democratic mechanisms, the rule of law, and human rights throughout the duration of the program. The Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) will undertake monitoring. The decision will enter into force on the third day of its publication in the Official Gazette.
It is worth noting that since 2013, the European Union has provided Jordan with €1.08 billion through three previous Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA-III) programs. The latest MFA-III program (2020-2023) provided €700 million to support key reforms in public financial management, social policies, and governance.
The European Union and Jordan have been bound by an Association Agreement since 2002. In 2022, the two sides signed Partnership Priorities, which aim to further strengthen cooperation and will guide the partnership until 2027. The European Union's support to Jordan helps the country mitigate the effects of the war in Syria and the resulting large number of refugees. The European Union has already mobilized around €4 billion for Jordan since the beginning of this crisis in 2011.