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AMMAN — Coffee vendors are crying foul over new regulations issued by the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) for those who want to renew their licences or apply for one.

The municipality recently said it will not renew the licences of cafeteria owners who sell coffee on the street and will further tighten control over these vendors to make sure that they do not violate the regulations, according to a GAM statement made available to The Jordan Times. 

Mervat Mheirat, director of GAM’s health supervision department, told The Jordan Times over the phone that the measure is designed to ensure traffic safety and public health. 

But the new rule prohibiting vendors from handing coffee to motorists on main streets is causing major grievances for employees and business owners

Baker Slaha, 25, said he could lose his job.

"After I graduated from university, I couldn't find a decent job, so I decided to join one of these places that sell coffee to earn my pocket money," he told The Jordan Times. 

More than 150 coffee stall owners and their employees have been staging daily demonstrations outside the municipality's headquarters in Ras Al Ain since Tuesday, urging GAM not to enforce the regulations.

Abu Ismael, the president of a committee representing the protesters, said the owners of coffee shops selling hot drinks to motorists and passers-by have been experiencing the same problems for the past 10 years.  

"Every year, when I go to renew my permit, it is the same story. This morning, GAM closed down one of my shops in Amman, claiming that my employees delivered coffee to a motorist," the owner of the "Captain" chain of coffee outlets, told The Jordan Times during the demonstration. 

Farouq Rizeq, who has been working at one of Abu Ismael's shops since 2000, claimed that the decision to prohibit vendors from serving coffee to drivers will result in severe traffic jams.

"When a motorist parks his car and goes to get his coffee, it will take him at least three minutes. Imagine the number of cars that will be parked outside the shop," he noted as he prepared a cup of coffee for a customer. 

It takes only seconds for an employee to deliver the coffee to a motorist, Rizeq added.

Mutaz Silaa, who owns a coffee shop, said he will be forced to lay off 40 employees because of the regulations. 

"Many people make a living out of this business. Imagine the number of families that will be negatively affected after these regulations are enforced," he said, noting that there are around 2,150 coffee outlets in the capital.

Wael Qas, who owns six coffee shops in Amman, described some of the regulations as "harsh" and "unfair". 

"If a shop is registered as a cafeteria instead of a coffee shop, its owners are not allowed to sell coffee or tea with the snacks. Most of our customers like to have a hot drink with their sandwich," he said during the demonstration.

The majority of the outlets, he added, are registered as cafeterias. 

Abdul Aljawad Ghanem, an employee at a coffee shop in the capital, said the middle class will be affected if many outlets close down. 

"A cup of coffee costs JD0.25. If customers are forced to go to Amman's cafés, it will cost them up to JD4 for a cup," he pointed out. 

Amer Al Qaisi, another coffee shop owner, said the protesters do not oppose all the regulations. 

"I do support GAM when they prohibit people from installing flashing lights that might affect traffic," he added. 

Commenting on GAM's decision to prohibit vendors from delivering coffee to motorists, Khaled Thawabi, a taxi driver, said the municipality can set rules that please all parties. 

"They can ask vendors not to stand in the middle of the road and allow them to deliver the coffee when the client stops near the shop. They can also define a specific age for sellers to avoid child labour," Thawabi added.

He said it would be difficult for him to park and get a coffee while on the job. 

"The passenger will not agree to wait for me to get out of the cab and get a coffee, and it is not always easy to find a legal parking space near these outlets," he noted. 

Abu Ahmad Sultan warned that if GAM goes ahead with its decision, the protesters will take escalatory measures.

AMMAN — The European Union on Thursday announced an additional 20 million euros in financial assistance to Jordan help mitigate the impact of the refugee burden.

The additional assistance came through two agreements worth 20 million euros the EU signed with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the UNHCR to support Jordanian authorities in ensuring safe and decent transportation to the Syrian refugees crossing into Jordan and in improving the security situation in the refugee camps.

EU Ambassador to Jordan Joanna Wronecka signed the two agreements Thursday with UNHCR Representative Andrew Harper and David Terzi, head of the IOM mission in Jordan.

The signing ceremony was also attended by Border Security Commander Brig. Gen. Hussein Zyoud and a security officer on behalf of Brig. Gen. Wadah Hmoud, director of Syrian refugee camps’ administration.

Voicing EU’s appreciation for Jordan’s “pivotal role” in providing support to the Syrian refugees, Wronecka voiced the union’s commitment to continued assistance to the refugee-burdened Kingdom.

“The new support [20 million euros] is part of the 230.9 million euros the EU has allocated in financial assistance to Jordan over the last two years aimed at mitigating the impact of the Syrian crisis on Jordan,” the ambassador said during the signing ceremony.

Also expressing gratitude for the “generosity” of Jordanian authorities and local communities towards the Syrian refugees, Wronecka added, however, that “the high numbers of Syrian refugees require significant contributions from the international community”.

“Realising the burdens the refugee crisis places on the country’s resources and the resulting enormous strain the country is put under, the EU remains deeply committed to assisting the Jordanian government in its response to the refugee crisis,” the ambassador said.

In a statement distributed to journalists, the EU said that the growth of the refugee camps in Jordan has been so fast that there is now an urgent need to enable a more systematic presence of the Jordanian authorities to help prevent security incidents in and around the refugee camps.

The UNHCR, the statement said, has entered a partnership with the recently set up Syrian Refugee Camps Department in charge of camp management and security to provide support for the police, Gendarmerie and civil defence personnel deployed at refugee camps. “Of the 20 million euros, 12 million will go to the security infrastructure provision at the refugee camps.”

The remaining 8 million euros will go to the Jordanian border guards and the IOM in material assistance to the former to help them in their efforts to ensure the safe and decent passage of Syrian refugees fleeing to Jordan and to help the latter provide capacity building and address the needs of the concerned officials, the statement said.

Harper commended the border guards’ humanitarian efforts to the Syrian refugees, saying: “In many countries around the world, border forces prevent refugees from coming into their secure territories except in Jordan, where border guards well-receive refugees and help them get into [the country]. Jordanians should be proud of their armed forces.”

He added that the UNHCR’s main mission is to make sure that the situation in Jordan would not become terrible because of the presence of more than 600,000 Syrian refugees.

Asked whether the nearly $2.4 billion donated during the recently concluded international pledging conference in Kuwait is enough, Harper said: “Not enough and never enough but a good step anyway. We are happy with the amount pledged.”  

Zyoud also said that the financial assistance to the border guards will be spent on logistic and humanitarian services offered to the Syrian refugees and not on security. 

According to EU figures, over 2 billion euros have been committed by the EU and member states in response to the Syrian crisis, making the union the world’s largest donor.

The bulk of the funds, said an EU statement, is committed to humanitarian interventions inside Syria. With an estimated 9.38 million people in need of humanitarian aid and over 6.5 million internally displaced, an increasing amount is being directed at alleviating pressures on neighbouring countries, mainly Jordan and Lebanon.

“So far, the European Commission has channelled 230.9 million euros to Jordan through humanitarian crisis response and development instruments,” the statement said.  

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and discussed the latest developments in the peace process in light of the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.

Stressing the importance of the time factor, the Monarch called for seizing the current opportunity and building on efforts exerted by US Secretary of State John Kerry to achieve tangible progress in the peace talks, according to a Royal Court statement.

He underlined the need for the negotiations to lead to the establishment of a viable and independent Palestinian state within the pre-1967 lines that lives side-by-side with Israel, with East Jerusalem as its capital. The solution to the conflict, he reiterated, should come according to the international resolutions, the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative and the two-state formula.

King Abdullah stressed that Jordan's higher interest, especially those related to the final-status issues are "on the top of our priorities", urging all stakeholders to work for a comprehensive and just peace by ensuring the right atmosphere that renders peace talks successful.

The King's meeting with Netanyahu comes after his recent talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Kerry as part as the ongoing consultations and coordination in efforts to achieve peace, the statement read. 

AMMAN — Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh on Wednesday slammed the Syrian embassy in Amman for its insults against a Jordanian lawmaker who criticised Syrian President Bashar Assad under the Dome.

In its statement, the embassy carried out an “unprecedented” verbal attack on MP Abdullah Obeidat (Irbid, 5th District) in response to his strongly worded remarks against Assad during Lower House deliberations over the draft 2014 state budget, the speaker said.

Tarawneh demanded that the government investigate the embassy reaction and accordingly provide the MPs with feedback.

His request came at the beginning of the Lower House’s Wednesday session, in which he addressed the deputies and the government over the issue. 

He stressed that such behaviours by the Syrian embassy in Amman are not acceptable at all and that it “violate all diplomatic norms and protocols”, adding that the statement includes “implied threats”.

Obeidat exercised his constitutional right and expressed his own view about the Syrian crisis; his statements do not represent the Lower House’s stand, Tarawneh said.

“We have suffered from the Syrian crisis with the influx of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees into the country, the political stands of regional powers, and finally the repeated insults against anyone who expresses opinions that oppose the Syrian embassy’s point of view,” the speaker said.

Obeidat had opened his speech in Parliament on Monday with the statement “no peace for Assad”. 

He went on to say that the Syrian president’s life will be short.

Two days later, the press office in the Syrian embassy in Amman issued a statement criticising his remarks.

The embassy called Obeidat a “nobody” and an “idiot” who insulted the “symbol of the Syrian people”.

In June last year, Syrian Ambassador to Jordan Bahjat Suleiman attacked MP Bassam Manasir, describing him as a “servant of the enemies of Syria and Jordan” after the lawmaker had called for expelling the envoy over his “provocative attitude”.

Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said at the time that the Syrian ambassador had “violated all diplomatic norms” through his remarks and attitude, threatening to treat him as “persona non grata” should this attitude continue. 

AMMAN –– The Lower House on Wednesday endorsed the 2014 state budget draft law with a majority of 57 votes out of 102 lawmakers who attended the meeting.

The deliberations over the budget took three days, with 87 House members taking the podium to reflect on the statement, which features a deficit of JD1.1 billion.

 The size of the 2014 budget is estimated to reach JD8.096 billion, up by JD920 million over public expenditure re-estimated for 2013.

Public revenues before foreign assistance are estimated at JD5.831 billion, an 11.6 per cent increase compared with the JD5.226 billion in 2013.

Overall public revenues, including foreign grants, are estimated to reach JD6.982 billion.

Budget planners project assistance from donor countries to increase by JD169 million or 17.3 per cent this year, from JD982 million re-estimated for 2013, to amount to JD1.151 billion.

MPs also approved the draft law for the 2014 budget of independent government institutions, whose revenues are estimated to reach JD710 million, while the expenditures will stand at JD1.829 billion, with an expected deficit of JD1.19 billion. 

AMMAN — Jordan topped the world list of contributors to relief assistance to Syrians, exceeding its fair share with 12,720 per cent.

According to a study by Oxfam released Tuesday, “some states are more than delivering what would be considered their fair share for the humanitarian effort. Arab states, and in particular countries hosting Syrian refugees, are leading the way with Jordan [12,720 per cent], Lebanon [5,617 per cent], Kuwait [1,444 per cent], Saudi Arabia [324 per cent], and Iraq [450 per cent]”.

Turkey is exceeding its fair share by 930 per cent, while Denmark has so far met 379 per cent of its obligations, Norway (380 per cent) and the UK (298 per cent).

But nearly two-thirds of states, some of the richest countries in the world and members of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, are giving less than what is expected given the size of their economies, Oxfam noted.

The analysis shows that Russia is falling far short of expectations having committed just 5 per cent of what would be considered its fair share. Japan is also lagging behind, having committed just 31 per cent. South Korea has pledged just 5 per cent.

France (77 per cent) has also been a relatively generous donor but needs to do more to support the revised appeal. The United States (88 per cent), the largest donor to UN appeals, has shown significant leadership but can do more to give its fair share.

Addressing a government meeting Tuesday in Kuwait, Oxfam said in a statement that while a much needed and lasting political solution is being sought through the Geneva peace talks, donor states must also prioritise funding the UN’s appeals for $6.5b, to ensure that Syrians receive the immediate humanitarian assistance they desperately need.

“Governments pledging funds in Kuwait must also focus on measures that will improve the humanitarian situation and ensure conditions are created to give peace talks the best possible chance of succeeding,” the statement added.

Gareth Price Jones, who heads up Oxfam’s response inside Syria and is attending the conference in Kuwait, said: “The Kuwait conference comes at a critical moment; the conflict continues to rage and we can expect the humanitarian needs for Syrians to continue to grow this year, possibly beyond. Donor countries cannot rest on their laurels. There is still a long way to go.”

Oxfam’s research calculates the amount of aid that should be given according to a country’s Gross National Income (GNI) and its overall wealth. The organisation last calculated the fair share analysis in September 2013. 

AMMAN –– The international community on Wednesday pledged over $2.5 billion in aid to Syrian refugees to ease the growing burden the humanitarian crisis is placing on host countries such as Jordan.

At the closing of the second annual Syrian refugee donors’ conference late Wednesday, the UN announced it had secured pledges for $2.5 billion in funds to provide urgent humanitarian aid to a forecast four million Syrians driven from their homes and over six million internally displaced this year.

Despite surpassing the $1.5 billion raised by donor countries and international charitable organisations last year, the sum represents less than half the record $6.5 billion sought by the UN for the aggravating humanitarian crisis, which has driven over 2.4 million Syrians into neighbouring countries since March 2011.

As of January, the UN has secured 70 per cent of the $1.5 billion pledged in the 2013 conference, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

Meanwhile, Jordanian officials hailed the international response, urging the global community to step up support to host countries which are feeling an increasing strain on their education, health, water and energy sectors due to the growing influx of thousands of refugees per day.

According to Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation officials present at the conference, some $1 billion of the pledged funds are expected to be earmarked for Jordan to help offset the $3.2 billion the presence of over 600,000 Syrian refugees is expected to cost the government this year.

In a press statement issued late Tuesday, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Ibrahim Saif expected Amman to have secured $1.5 billion in international aid should the UN have reached its target goal.

The secured funds are expected to go towards direct and indirect support to help the country sustain its water, health and education sectors in order to cope with a refugee influx that stands at some 500 persons per day.

The pledges come as violence continues to intensify across Syria, with the UN reporting over 9.3 million civilians in need of “urgent humanitarian aid” — over half of whom are children.

The conference was attended by 70 countries and 24 international organisations.

In the opening of the one-day summit, Kuwait pledged $500 million for the Syrian refugee crisis, with the US and Saudi Arabia following with a pledges of $380 million and $250 million respectively.

EU countries promised a total of $753 million.

Jordan has opened its borders to over one million Syrians since the onset of the conflict, including over 600,000 classified as refugees.

Jordanian and UN officials have urged the international community to step up its support to host countries, warning that Syria’s neighbours may revisit their open-border policies in light of dwindling resources and the growing stresses placed by the burgeoning refugee populations.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday underlined the “deep” strategic ties between Jordan and Russia and the need to develop them at all levels, especially in the field of energy. 

At a meeting with head of the Russian Federal Agency for Atomic Energy (Rosatom), Sergei Kiriyenko, the King highlighted the Kingdom’s strategy to diversify energy resources, including the generation of electricity from nuclear energy.

For his part, Kiriyenko stressed his country’s commitment to enhancing cooperation with Jordan to best serve the interest of the two countries, according to a Royal Court statement. 

The Cabinet has selected Russian state-owned firm Rosatom as the preferred vendor to construct a nuclear plant that includes two reactors, each with 1,000-megawatt capacity by 2021.

Jordan and the company are working to conduct detailed studies on the plant and its economic and environment feasibility, in addition to construction and operational costs. 

Also on Monday, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour met with Kiriyenko and an accompanying delegation and discussed bilateral ties and the government’s energy plans, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.     

AMMAN — Jordan is scheduled to take part in the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union Conference in Kuwait.

Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh will be heading the Kingdom’s delegation.

In his address at the January 18-20 conference, Tarawneh will emphasise Jordan’s support for the Palestinian people and their right to establish an independent state on Palestinian land with Jerusalem as its capital, in addition to the refugees’ right of return.

He will also highlight Jordan’s efforts to support the Middle East peace talks, and the Kingdom’s role as the custodian of holy sites in Jerusalem.

The conference will be dedicated to studying the issue of Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine and the “continued aggression” against its people and holy sites.

AMMAN — Interior Minister Hussein Majali on Wednesday commended Jordanian-Bahraini ties.

In remarks he made before leaving for Bahrain, he added that bilateral relations have advanced over the years to the status of a strategic partnership.

Majali said he will meet with his Bahraini counterpart Sheikh Rashid Bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, adding that the visit aims to exchange views on issues of mutual concern, especially security cooperation.