L 341/4 Official Journal of the European Union 18.12.2013 DECISIONS DECISION No 1351/2013/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 11 December 2013 on providing macro-financial assistance to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 212 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure ('), Whereas: (1) Relations between the Union and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Jordan’) are developing within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). A Euro-Mediterranean ~ Agreement establishing an Association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Jordan, of the other part (?) (the EU-Jordan Association Agree- ment), entered into force on 1 May 2002. Bilateral political dialogue and economic cooperation have been further developed within the framework of ENP Action Plans, of which the most recent covers the period 2010- 2015. In 2010, the Union granted Jordan ‘Advanced Status’ partnership, which covers a wide area of cooperation between both parties. In 2013 the EU- Jordan Association Agreement was complemented by a Framework Agreement between the Union and Jordan on the general principles for the participation of Jordan in Union programmes, furthering cooperation between the Union and Jordan. Jordan's economy has been significantly affected by domestic events related to the events in the Southern Mediterranean since the end of 2010, known as the ‘Arab Spring’, and by the ongoing regional unrest, in particular in neighbouring Egypt and Syria. In particular, the high inflow of refugees from Syria who have sought refuge in Jordan is having a severe impact on Jordan’s (1) Position of the European Parliament of 20 November 2013 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and Decision of the Council of 5 December 2013. (%) Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an Association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, of the other part (O] L 129, 15.5.2002, p. 3). economy. In the context of a much weaker global economic environment, the repeated disruptions to the flow of natural gas from Egypt, which have forced Jordan to replace gas imports from Egypt with more expensive fuels for electricity generation, and the significant financial resources required to provide humanitarian assistance to the refugees from Syria who are present on Jordan’s territory, have resulted in important external and budgetary financial gaps. Since the Arab Spring began, the Union has, on various occasions, declared its commitment to supporting Jordan in its economic and political reform process. That commitment was reaffirmed, in December 2012, in the conclusions of the 10th meeting of the Association Council between the Union and Jordan. Jordan’s geographical position makes it also a strategic country for stability and security in the Middle East, but equally makes the country particularly vulnerable to external shocks, both in political and economic terms. It is therefore important to provide adequate support to Jordan and to further political and economic dialogue between the Union and Jordan. Jordan has embarked on a series of political reforms, most in particular leading to the adoption by the Jordanian Parliament in September 2011 of over 40 constitutional amendments, representing a significant step towards a fully-fledged democratic system. Political and economic support from the Union to Jordan’s reform process is consistent with the Union's policy towards the Southern Mediterranean region, as set out in the context of the ENP. In line with the Joint Declaration by the European Parliament and the Council adopted together with Decision No 778/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (}), Union macro-financial assistance should be an exceptional financial instrument of untied and undesignated balance-of-payments support, which aims at restoring a beneficiary’s sustainable external finance situation and should underpin the implemen- tation of a policy programme containing strong adjustment and structural reform measures designed to improve the balance of payment position, in particular (}) Decision No 778/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 August 2013 providing further macro-financial assistance to Georgia (O] L 218, 14.8.2013, p. 15).