jordan pulse -

The European Council adopted a new €500 million macro-financial assistance package for Jordan on Wednesday, providing long-term loans to support economic stability and ongoing reforms amid rising regional challenges.

The aid, requested by Jordan in October 2023, will be disbursed in three installments over 2.5 years to help meet the country's external financing needs. It will be formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Jordan and the European Commission.

Despite maintaining 2% economic growth over the past five years (excluding the 2020 COVID-19 downturn), Jordan continues to struggle with high unemployment, external account deficits, and public debt reaching 88.7% of GDP in 2023.

The EU has pledged €3 billion in aid to Jordan for 2025-2027, including €640 million in grants, €1.4 billion in investments, and €1 billion in macroeconomic support. Since 2013, Jordan has received €1.08 billion in EU macro-financial assistance. The European Council will now begin negotiations with the European Parliament for final approval.