Proposal for a DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL providing further macro-financial assistance to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) is an external instrument of the EU under which financial assistance is granted to third countries close to the EU to help them address acute balance-of-payments difficulties. MFA complements financing provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the context of an adjustment and reform programme.

2. MFA can take the form of grants financed from the EU budget, or loans, for which the Commission is empowered to borrow the necessary funds in capital markets (guaranteed by the Guarantee Fund for External Actions) and lend them on to the beneficiary country. MFA is exceptional in nature and is discontinued once the country can satisfy its external financing needs through other sources.

3. MFA is provided on a case-by-case basis where the launch of an individual MFA operation requires a separate legislative decision of the European Parliament and of the Council.

Proposal for EU MFA to Jordan

4. The Jordanian economy has been significantly affected by regional unrest. This has had a substantial deleterious effect on external receipts and strained public finances. Coupled with lower tourism and foreign direct investment, eight years of blocked trade routes, and disruptions to the flow of natural gas from Egypt, Jordan’s external fiscal position is under strain.