The fifteenth EU-Jordan Association Council was held in Brussels, on Monday 15 July, and provided an opportunity for participants to commit to strengthening cooperation in the political and economic fields, as well as taking stock of international efforts to put an end to the war in Gaza.
Organised in a “very difficult” context for Jordan, as the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, put it, this new Association Council was also an opportunity to discuss the large number of Syrian refugees in the country and the difficulties Jordan has in providing all the necessary services, explained Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates.
“Jordan is an indispensable partner for us, for the European Union and a pillar of regional stability. It is important that this partnership continues to improve every day, in a continuous process of […] cooperation”, commented Josep Borrell.
“Advancing in this direction will allow us to further increase our cooperation in key areas which are strategic, which are security, defence, trade, investment, energy, digital technology”, he added.
The meeting was also an opportunity to renew the EU’s commitment to supporting Jordan's modernisation process and political, economic and public administration reforms.
EU Election Observation Mission. The EU will be sending a mission to observe the legislative elections scheduled to take place in the country in September. A new electoral law should also ensure greater “representation of political parties, women and youth”, added Ayman Safadi.
This 15th Council meeting was also largely devoted to Gaza. “The constant rise of the number of civilian casualties is unbearable and underlines the urgency of establishing a ceasefire and working to find a durable solution”, commented the High Representative.
“This aggression must end and must end now, the violation of international law must end. War crimes must end. The only way for the Palestinians, the Israelis and the whole region to achieve peace is to implement the two-state solution, which will enable the emergence of an independent sovereign state”, commented Ayman Safadi.
Syrian refugees. With regard to the hundreds of thousands of Syrians welcomed into the country, the Deputy Prime Minister said that all efforts should be focused on “creating conditions that are conducive for voluntary return of refugees”.
But “as long as the refugees are in Jordan, we cannot, as the host country, burden the cost of caring for them alone. (...) Support is dwindling, less and less commitment by donors is being translated into actual support to our economy”, he explained.
“We do everything we can to provide a dignified life to refugees. 155,000 children study in our schools. We have granted over 400,000 work permits to Syrians at a time when unemployment in Jordan is over 23%”, he added. But “if the donor community does not continue to provide its support”, the planned opening of 200 additional schools could be called into question, as could the supply of electricity to the refugee camps.
At the end of 2023, the Syrian diaspora represented around 660,000 people in Jordan. In May, the EU pledged €2.12 billion for 2024 and 2025 for Syrians remaining in Syria and those living in neighbouring countries, as well as their host communities in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)