(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) The European Union (EU) will be granting Jordan 40 million euros to help the government and host communities bear the impact of the influx of Syrian refugees. The EU ambassador to Jordan, Joanna Wronecka said that "The Syrian refugee crisis poses great challenges to the region and in particular to Jordan, and in this time Europe stands shoulder to shoulder with the Kingdom. The host communities bear the full weight and basic services such as education and sanitation must remain accessible to both Jordanians and Syrians alike." Jordan news agency reported. The first agreement is for 30 million euros in budgetary support in the form of grant in the field of education
The support to education will help the Ministry of Education to extend education services to 85,000 Syrian students enrolled in public schools in host communities and in the refugee camps. It will also cover the costs related to additional 2,400 extra teachers that have been appointed, 80,000 additional school books that are being printed and distributed to the Syrian students and double shifts that have been introduced in 80 public schools. The first part of the grant (15 million euros) was issued last month and will cover the extra costs for the current 2013/2014 school year. The second part will be issued at the end of 2014 to cover the 2014/2015 school year.
The second agreement, worth 10 million euros, will help expand and improve wastewater services in host communities. The project will be implemented by the Water Authority of Jordan through cooperation with the German Development Bank. Under the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI), the European Union has provided financial development assistance to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan totaling 314 million euros over the 2011-2013 period.
Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis, the European Union has allocated and made available to Jordan and to the host communities in Jordan an additional amount of 83 million euros in the form of development funding, focusing on education, small businesses development and wastewater services.
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