AMMAN: The European Commission, on behalf of the European Union (EU), has decided to disburse 80 million euros to Jordan in the form of a loan.
The commission announced Friday that this is the second and final tranche of a 180 million-euro Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) programme for the Kingdom as adopted by the European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers on December 18, 2013. The first disbursement under this programme, amounting to 100 million euros, took place on February 10, 2015, said a statement posted on the website of the commission.
“Jordan is an important partner for the European Union and we are committed to helping the Jordanian people cope with the knock-on effects of the severe crises the Middle East is experiencing. Today’s decision is a further concrete sign of our solidarity. We are living up to our promise to support Jordan’s economic reforms to boost growth and job creation,” said commissioner Pierre Moscovici, responsible for economic and financial affairs, taxation and customs.
This assistance comes in addition to other forms of EU support to Jordan that includes regular cooperation in Jordan’s reform efforts in areas such as energy policy, employment and private sector development, as well as the more than 300 million euros provided since the beginning of the Syrian crisis to help the country address its related humanitarian, development and security needs.
Macro-Financial Assistance is an exceptional EU crisis-response instrument available to EU neighbouring partner countries experiencing severe balance of payment problems. It is complementary to the assistance provided by the International Monetary Fund. The MFA programme for Jordan is intended to strengthen the country’s foreign exchange reserve position and to alleviate its balance of payments and budgetary needs stemming from negative shocks caused by regional instability, including the interruption of gas supplies from Egypt and the Syrian crisis.
