Ammon News - The European Union on Wednesday disbursed Euro 200 million to Jordan, the last tranche of Euro 700 million Marco-Financial Assistance (MFA) program aimed to support the implementation of the Jordanian Government’s economic reform agenda, as well as assist in alleviating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With today's disbursement, the EU has now provided Jordan with more than Euro 1.08 billion in MFA funds since 2013, the EU Delegation in Amman said in a statement.

The current disbursement of Euro 200 million follows a positive assessment by the European Union of Jordan’s implementation of important structural policy measures agreed on in the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the European Union and Jordan in August 2020, the statement added.

These included progression in the roll-out of smart water meters, installation of small solar energy stations in 4,000 vulnerable households, expanding the National Aid Fund social assistance programme ‘Takaful’ to reach about 200,000 households, measures to increase labour market participation and strengthen good governance and fight against corruption, as well as improving public finance management and procurement.

Jordan continues to satisfy the pre-condition for Macro-Financial Assistance of respecting effective democratic mechanisms, including a multi-party parliamentary system and the rule of law, and guaranteeing the respect for human rights, according to the statement.

The MFA is an emergency financial tool that supports countries that are geographically, economically and politically close to the EU, to help stabilise their economies in times of crisis. It is complementary to the assistance provided by the International Monetary Fund.

MFA funds are made available with highly favourable terms and low-interest rates, conditional on the implementation of specific policy measures agreed in the Memorandum of Understanding.