09/10/2014 -
The EU and Jordan have today officially established a Mobility Partnership. EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmström, Jordan's Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, and the Ministers responsible for migration from the twelve EU Member States participating in this partnership (Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden) signed a Joint Declaration establishing a framework for future cooperation in the field of migration and mobility.
"This is a significant step towards greater cooperation between the EU, its Member States and Jordan and our Partnership aims to bring European and Jordanian citizens closer. The EU and Jordan will step up efforts to better prevent human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants while at the same time paving the way for the start of negotiations on an agreement to facilitate the procedures for the issuing of Schengen visas to citizens of Jordan. The Partnership will also support Jordan's remarkable efforts in providing stability and refuge in the region", said Commissioner Malmström in the margins of the Home Affairs Council in Luxembourg.
Through this partnership the EU and Jordan agree to ensure that the movement of persons is managed as effectively as possible, allowing for concrete actions to further improve the situation in the way migration, asylum and borders are dealt with. Strengthening efforts to derive all the potential benefits from migration and linking them to development is a key feature of the Partnership.
Measures should also be taken to improve the information available to qualified Jordanian citizens on employment, education and training opportunities available in the EU and also to make mutual recognition of professional and university qualifications easier.
Besides opening negotiations on an agreement for the readmission of irregular migrants, the EU and Jordan will begin negotiations on an agreement to facilitate the visa issuing procedures.
Jordan has been showing a true sense of responsibility and commitment to peace, democracy and human rights in the region and has been conducting a remarkable effort to lessen the impact of the humanitarian tragedy in Syria which deserves full EU support.
The Partnership should also help Jordan in further improving its capacity to deal with people in need of international protection and the actions that will be undertaken to implement it will build on or align with actions planned under the recently launched EU Regional Development and Protection Programme for the Middle East (Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq).