European Council says it sets out position for €500 million in MFA to Jordan

AMMAN - The European Council said it has set out its position for negotiations with the European Parliament on a decision to provide up to €500 million in macro-financial assistance (MFA) to Jordan.

In a statement on its website, the Council said the EU assistance "will bolster 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 outstanding external financing needs while creating the fiscal space necessary to sustain reform efforts."

The Council also said that the 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 long-term loans, disbursed in three instalments. 

"Since 2013, the EU has provided Jordan with €1.08 billion under three previous MFA programmes. The latest MFA-III programme (2020-2023) was initially set at €500 million and topped up by €200 million to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. These funds supported key reforms in public finance management, social and labour policy, and governance," IT SAID. 

The presidency of the Council will start negotiations with the European Parliament as soon as the latter has defined its position, the statement said. 

On April 8, 2024, the Commission submitted the macro-financial assistance proposal to the Council.

The EU and Jordan have been linked by an Association Agreement since 2002. In 2022, they signed the Partnership Priorities, which aim to strengthen cooperation further and will guide the partnership until 2027. The EU's support to Jordan assists the country in mitigating the impact of the war in Syria and the resulting large number of refugees. Overall, the EU has already mobilised around €4 billion for Jordan since the beginning of this crisis in 2011, the statement said.