14 Amendments of Rima HASSAN related to 2024/0086(COD)
Amendment 4 #
Proposal for a decision
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) Since 2011, Jordan has embarked on a number of political reforms to strengthen parliamentary democracy and the rule of law. A Constitutional Court and an Independent Electoral Commission have been set up and a number of major laws, including the Electoral Act and the Political Parties Act as well as laws on decentralisation and municipalities, have been passed by the Jordanian Parliament. Legislative improvements as regards the independence of the judiciary and women’s rights have been adopted. However, not all reforms have benefited the broader population; in 2018, mass demonstrations against an IMF-backed tax reform, which introduced income tax increases and austerity measures criticised for disproportionately burdening the poor and middle class, led to the resignation of Prime Minister Hani Al-Mulqi.
Amendment 10 #
Proposal for a decision
Recital 3 a (new)
Recital 3 a (new)
(3 a) Jordan hosts around 1.3 million refugees, making it one of the countries with the highest number of refugee populations per capita. Some 2.3 million Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA, of whom some 370,000 reside in UNRWA-administered camps. Jordan has shown extraordinary hospitality in integrating many refugees into the national health and education systems, despite pressure on resources and limited international funding. Continued support from the European Union is crucial to avoid deepening the humanitarian crisis.
Amendment 13 #
Proposal for a decision
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) The war in Israel-genocide in Gaza that started in October 2023 implies very substantial downside risk to the economic outlook, in particular due to the increased level of uncertainty in the region and the possible impact on the important tourism sector and consumer sentiment. The ongoing Houthi attacks on cargo and energy vessels in the Red Sea hinder vessel traffic to Asia, impacting Jordan’s exports, in particular the mineral and chemicals exports, and imports.In January 2024, the Jordanian authorities and the IMF agreed on a new economic adjustment programme supported by a four-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) in the amount of USD 1.2 billion, which followed a USD 1.7 billion four-year EFF, including a loan under the Rapid Financing Instrument, from 2020- 2023.
Amendment 14 #
Proposal for a decision
Recital 4 a (new)
Recital 4 a (new)
(4 a) The IMF's priorities in general are fiscal stability and labour market flexibility, often at the expense of the country's social development. In this instance, the IMF's programme for Jordan is aimed in particular at building resilience in the financial sector, developing the private sector and reducing the ratio of public debt to GDP (mirroring the objectives from its earlier programme).
Amendment 16 #
Proposal for a decision
Recital 4 b (new)
Recital 4 b (new)
(4 b) The United States recently adopted a 845 million USD grant to Jordan. Grants are usually favored over loans for countries with urgent humanitarian needs, as they do not increase the recipient's debt burden. And finally, loans are generally not suitable for low-income or fragile states with limited repayment capacity. Considering the dire situation on the ground and the geopolitical context, the Union could have envisaged a balanced approach, combining loans and grants, to provide more effective support.
Amendment 26 #
Proposal for a decision
Recital 20
Recital 20
(20) The Union’s macro-financial assistance should support Jordan’s commitment to values shared with the Union, including democracy, the rule of law, good governance, respect for human rights, sustainable development and poverty reduction, as well as its commitment to the principles of rule-based and fair trade. However, recent developmen, rule- based and fair tradets raise concerns about Jordan's adherence to these values. Several recent laws have been used to increase restriction on freedom of speech, such as the new Cybercrime Law (2023). Hundreds of individual shave faced charges under this law for expressing pro- Palestinian sentiment, criticising Jordan's peace agreement with Israel or calling for peaceful demonstrations.
Amendment 42 #
Proposal for a decision
Article 1 – paragraph 1
Article 1 – paragraph 1
1. The Union shall make macro- financial assistance of a maximum amount of EUR 500 million available to Jordan (“the Union’s macro-financial assistance”), with a view to supporting Jordan’s economic stabilisation and a substantive reform agenda to improve living and employment conditions . The assistance shall contribute to covering Jordan’s balance of payments needs as identified in the IMF programme.
Amendment 43 #
Proposal for a decision
Article 1 – paragraph 4
Article 1 – paragraph 4
4. The release of the Union’s macro- financial assistance shall be managed by the Commission in a manner consistent with the agreements or understandings reached between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Jordan, and with the key principles and objectives of economic reforms set out in the EU-Jordan Association Agreement.
Amendment 48 #
Proposal for a decision
Article 2 – paragraph 2
Article 2 – paragraph 2
2. The Commission and the European External Action Service shall monitor the fulfilment of this pre-condition throughout the life cycle of the Union’s macro- financial assistance. The European Parliament shall be consulted for guidance concerning human rights implementation.
Amendment 50 #
Proposal for a decision
Article 3 – paragraph 1
Article 3 – paragraph 1
1. The Commission, in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 7(2), shall agree with the Jordanian authorities on clearly defined economic policy and financial conditions, focusing on structurocial reforms and sound public finances and services, to which the Union’s macro-financial assistance is to be subject, to be laid down in a Memorandum of Understanding (“the Memorandum of Understanding”) which shall include a timeframe for the fulfilment of those conditions, conditionnal to the disbursement of the three instalments, referred in article 4 . The economic policy and financial conditions set out in the Memorandum of Understanding shall be consistent with the agreements or understandings referred to in Article 1(3), including the macroeconomic adjustment and structural reform programmes implemented by Jordan with the support of the IMF. The European and Jordan Parliaments shall be consulted on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), considering its important political, financial and social implications, especially in areas like migration. In case of EU Treaty revision, Parliamentary oversight should be extended to include MoUs. Alternatively, the Commission shall envisage to foster formal and binding agreements that requires approuval by the European Parliament (Articles 207, 218 TFEU).
Amendment 54 #
Proposal for a decision
Article 3 – paragraph 2
Article 3 – paragraph 2
2. The conditions referred to in paragraph 1 shall aim, in particular, at enhancing the efficiency, transparency and accountability of the public finance management systems in Jordan, including for the use of the Union’s macro-financial assistance. Progress in mutual market openingiority shall be given to ensuring a fair taxation to finance affordable public services, education and healthcare services, the development of rules-based and fair trade, and other priorities in the context of the Union’s external policy shall also be duly taken into account when designing the policy measures. Progress in attaining those objectives shall be regularly monitored by the Commission, together with the Parliament .
Amendment 56 #
Proposal for a decision
Article 3 – paragraph 4 a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. The Commission shall ensure the macro-financial assistance (MFA) does not contribute to the further erosion of people’s economic and social rights and respect EU regulation on MFA, in particular that recipients of macro- financial assistance adhere to the respect of human rights and effective democratic mechanisms, including a multi-party parliamentary system and the rule of law.
Amendment 57 #
Proposal for a decision
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point b
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point b
(b) a continuous satisfactory track record of implementing a policy programme that contains strong adjustment and structural reform measures supported by a non-precautionary IMF credit arrangement; and
Amendment 59 #
Proposal for a decision
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point c
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point c
(c) the satisfactory implementation of the economic policy and financial conditions agreed in the Memorandum of Understanding as described above.