Attachment

THE EU-JORDAN ASSOCIATION COMMITTEE,

Having regard to the 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, (‘the Agreement’), and in particular Article 94 of the Agreement and Article 39 of Protocol 3 to the Agreement,

Whereas:

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (‘Jordan’) submitted proposals to the international community for a holistic approach for an economic response to the Syrian refugee crisis and, as part of this initiative, made a specific request on 12 December 2015 for a relaxation of the rules of origin applied under the Agreement so as to enhance Jordan's exports to the Union and create additional employment opportunities, especially for Syrian refugees as well as Jordanians.

In the framework of the International Conference on Supporting Syria and the Region, held in London on 4 February 2016, Jordan declared its intention to promote the participation of Syrian refugees in the formal labour market in Jordan and, in that context, to provide 50,000 job opportunities for Syrian refugees within one year of the Conference and the overall objective to increase this level to approximately 200 000 job opportunities over the next years.

A temporary relaxation of applicable rules of origin would allow for certain goods produced in Jordan to be subject to less stringent rules of origin for the purpose of determining preferential treatment on import into the Union than would otherwise apply. This temporary relaxation of applicable rules of origin would be part of the Union's support to Jordan in the context of the Syrian crisis and with the aim of mitigating the costs imposed by hosting a large number of Syrian refugees.

The Union considers that the requested relaxation of the rules of origin would contribute to the overall objective of creating approximately 200 000 job opportunities for Syrian refugees.

The relaxation of the rules of origin would be subject to certain conditions with a view to ensuring that the benefit goes to exporters that contribute to the Jordanian effort of employing Syrian refugees.

The Annex to this Decision applies to goods produced in production facilities located in dedicated development zones and industrial areas within Jordan and contributing to the generation of employment for Syrian refugees and for the Jordanian population.

The objective of this initiative is to stimulate trade and investment in those development zones and industrial areas and thereby contribute to improved economic and employment opportunities for Syrian refugees and for the Jordanian population.

Annex II to Protocol 3 of the Agreement should therefore be complemented in order to specify the list of working or processing required to be carried out on non-originating materials in order for such products to obtain originating status. This complementary list of working or processing should be based on the origin rules applied by the Union for imports from least-developed countries under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences / Everything But Arms initiative.

There should be a possibility to suspend temporarily the application of the Annex to this Decision, establishing a complementary list of working and processing in relation to a specific production facility if the conditions laid out in Article 1.1 of the Annex to this Decision are not met by that facility.

There should also be a possibility to suspend temporarily the application of the Annex to this Decision with respect to any of the products listed in Article 2 of the Annex to this Decision imported in such increased quantities and under such conditions as to cause, or threaten to cause, serious injuries to Union producers of like or directly competing products in all or part of the territory of the Union or serious disturbances in any sector of the economy of the Union, in accordance with Articles 24 and 26 of the Agreement.

This Decision should be valid for a limited period sufficient to provide an incentive for additional investment and employment generation and should therefore expire on 31 December 2026. The Union and Jordan will carry out a mid-term review pursuant to Article 1.7 of the Annex to this Decision, and may amend the Annex to this Decision through a decision of the Association Committee in the light of experience gained through the implementation of this Decision.

The achievement by Jordan of its objective set in the framework of the International Conference of 4 February 2016 of creating approximately 200 000 job opportunities for Syrian refugees would represent a significant milestone also in respect of the implementation of this Decision, whereupon the Union and Jordan will consider further simplifying this support measure. This would require an amendment of the Annex to this Decision through a decision of the Association Committee,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: