Legal provisions of COM(2024)159 - - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2024)159 - . |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2024)159 |
| date | April 8, 2024 |
Article 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. The assistance shall contribute to covering Jordan’s balance of payments needs as identified in the IMF programme.
2. The full amount of the Union’s macro-financial assistance shall be provided to Jordan in the form of loans.
3. The Commission shall be empowered, on behalf of the Union, to borrow the necessary funds on the capital markets or from financial institutions and to on-lend them to Jordan.
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.
5. The Commission shall regularly inform the European Parliament and the Council of developments regarding the Union’s macro-financial assistance, including disbursements thereof, and shall provide those institutions with the relevant documents in due time.
6. The Union’s macro-financial assistance shall be made available for a period of two and a half years, starting from the first day after the entry into force of the Memorandum of Understanding referred to in Article 3(1).
7. If the financing needs of Jordan decrease fundamentally during the period of the disbursement of the Union’s macro-financial assistance compared to the initial projections, the Commission, acting in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 7(2), shall reduce the amount of the assistance or suspend or cancel it.
Article 2
1. A pre-condition for granting the Union’s macro-financial assistance shall be that Jordan respects effective democratic mechanisms – including a multi-party parliamentary system – and the rule of law, and guarantees respect for human rights.
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.
3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall be applied in accordance with Council Decision 2010/427/EU17.
Article 3
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 structural reforms and sound public finances, 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. 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.
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 opening, 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.
3. The detailed financial terms of the Union’s macro-financial assistance shall be laid down in a loan agreement in accordance with Article 220 of the Financial Regulation, to be concluded between the Commission and the Jordanian authorities.
4. The Commission shall verify, at regular intervals, that the conditions referred to in Article 4(3) continue to be met, including whether the economic policies of Jordan are in accordance with the objectives of the Union’s macro-financial assistance. In so doing, the Commission shall coordinate closely with the IMF and the World Bank, and, where necessary, with the European Parliament and the Council.
Article 4
1. Subject to the conditions referred to in paragraph 3, the Union’s macro-financial assistance shall be made available by the Commission in three loan instalments. The size of each instalment shall be laid down in the Memorandum of Understanding referred to in Article 3.
2. The amounts of the Union’s macro-financial assistance shall be provisioned, where required, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/947.
3. The Commission shall decide on the release of the instalments subject to the fulfilment of all the following conditions:
(a) the pre-condition set out in Article 2;
(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
(c) the satisfactory implementation of the economic policy and financial conditions agreed in the Memorandum of Understanding.
The release of the second instalment shall not, in principle, take place earlier than three months after the release of the first instalment. The release of the third instalment shall not, in principle, take place earlier than three months after the release of the second instalment.
4. Where the conditions referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 3 are not met, the Commission shall temporarily suspend or cancel the disbursement of the Union’s macro-financial assistance. In such cases, it shall inform the European Parliament and the Council of the reasons for the suspension or cancellation.
5. The Union’s macro-financial assistance shall be disbursed to the Central Bank of Jordan. Subject to the provisions to be agreed in the Memorandum of Understanding, including a confirmation of residual budgetary financing needs, the Union funds may be transferred by the Central Bank of Jordan to the Jordanian Ministry of Finance as the final beneficiary.
Article 5
1. In order to finance the support under the macro-financial assistance in the form of loans, the Commission shall be empowered, on behalf of the Union, to borrow the necessary funds on the capital markets or from financial institutions in accordance with Article 220 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046.
2. The Commission shall enter into a loan agreement with Jordan in respect of the amount referred to in Article 1. The detailed terms of the support under the MFA in the form of loans shall be laid down in a loan agreement in accordance with Article 220 of the Financial Regulation, to be concluded between the Commission and Jordan. The loan agreement shall lay down the availability period and the detailed terms of the support under the macro-financial assistance in the form of loans, including in relation to the internal control systems. The loans shall be granted at terms that allow Jordan to repay the loan over a long period, including a possible grace period. The maximum duration of the loans shall be 35 years.
3. The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council of developments in the operations referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3.
Article 6
1. The Union’s macro-financial assistance shall be implemented in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council18.
2. The Union’s macro-financial assistance shall be implemented under direct management.
3. Before the implementation of the Union’s macro-financial assistance, the Commission shall assess, by means of an operational assessment, the soundness of Jordan’s financial arrangements, the administrative procedures, and the internal and external control mechanisms which are relevant to the assistance.
Article 7
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.
2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.
Article 8
1. By 30 June of each year, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and to the Council a report on the implementation of this Decision in the preceding year, including an evaluation of that implementation. The report shall:
(a) examine the progress made in implementing the Union’s macro-financial assistance to Jordan;
(b) assess the economic situation and prospects of Jordan, as well as progress made in implementing the economic policy and financial conditions referred to in Article 3(1);
(c) indicate the connection between the economic policy conditions laid down in the Memorandum of Understanding, Jordan’s ongoing economic and fiscal performance and the Commission’s decisions to release the instalments of the Union’s macro-financial assistance.
2. Not later than two years after the expiry of the availability period referred to in Article 1(6), the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and to the Council an ex-post evaluation report, assessing the results and efficiency of the completed Union’s macro-financial assistance and the extent to which it has contributed to the aims of the assistance.
Article 9
This Decision shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.