19/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - Macro-financial aid agreement. On Tuesday, Euro Commissioner Olli Rehn, Jordanian Finance Minister Umayya Toukan and the governor of Jordan's central bank, Dr Ziad Fariz, signed a macro-financial assistance agreement for a long-term €180 million loan from the EU. Some €100 million will be made available rapidly once the various legal and administrative procedures have been completed, and the remaining €80 million will be disbursed in the autumn as long as the stipulated structural reforms have been implemented. The EU aid comes on top of a USD 2 billion aid package from the International Monetary Fund granted in 2012. Jordan's economy has been suffering from problems in the region, like the hike in oil prices and the flood of refugees from Syria, along with a terrorist attack on the gas pipeline in the Sinai peninsula. (MB)