The Role of the EU in supporting Political and Economic Development in Jordan

1.0 Introduction

Formerly identified as the EU, the European Union refers to an economic and political

union consisting of twenty-seven (27) Member States, mainly located in Europe, with a

population of approximately 447 million, with a total area of approximately 4,233, 255

square kilometers. Therefore, the European Union has established the 'internal single market:

the use of standardized framework laws which are applicable in all the Member States

participating in matters in which it agrees to ensure that they behave and operate as one body

(Seeberg, 2016). The key goals of EU policies are to assure that not only goods, but also

individuals, resources and services are freely moved within their internal market. The EU

also strives to promote that applicable legislation is implemented in the fields of home affairs

and justice, and to ensure that common and viable policies on fisheries, agriculture, trade, and

regional growth are retained. The use of the common currency identified as the Euro, set up

by the Monetary Union in 1999, is one of the core aspects of the EU Member States. It is

essential to remember that after the 2016 referendum, the United Kingdom (UK) became the

first EU member state to leave the European Union (Teti et al. 2017). It is understood that the

European Union operates "permanent diplomatic missions" around the world. It is therefore

effectively represented by different bodies, such as the G20, the G7, the World Trade

Organization (WTO) and even the United Nations (UN).

Role of European Union in economic development

The European Union has played a very significant role in the economic development of

various countries in different aspects. Some of these developments have been mentioned here

subsequently.

Economic development in Trade sector

64% of the total trade of the member countries is done within the bloc in the European Union.

The EU is consisted of only 7% of the population of the world, yet it accounts for more than

15% of imports and exports across the globe. Along with the United States of America and

China, the EU stands among the top three largest players of the global trade. The second

largest share of global exports and imports goods was of European Union countries. The

exports reported to be exceeding 15% of the total world. It was the first time when European

Union surpassed China in 2014. Although the EU countries could not make it up in the next

years and stayed behind China which grew from 16% to 17% back in 2016 but EU sustained

its position ahead of US which accounted for about 12% of the exports. The share of US for

world’s imports was reported to be nearly 18% then that of the European Union countries

which were reported about 15% but China lagged behind and reported only 12% of the

imports. (The economy | European Union, 2020)

Economic development in Employment sector

European Union has been quite successful in providing employment to the people and

increase employment rate. The global crisis of recession in 2008 as well as eurozone

turbulence impacted global economics very badly. But the European Union helped the

member countries in joining hands to increase trade and providing people with different

employment opportunities. (The economy | European Union, 2020)

Economic development in Gender pay gap sector

The EU has its roots in mitigating the pay gap because of gender and has successfully

narrowed down this gap among young employees as well as has also extended the age limit.

This may be a consequence of several career interruptions by typically experienced women

offering their services and were not offered competitive pays. Specifically, this pay gap has

been emerged as the case of older women facing the glass ceiling effect or missing out

common equality measures at the workplace. (The economy | European Union, 2020)
Economic development in E Commerce sector

With the help of European Union, online shopping has been quite popular as well as growing

steadily. Because the number of Internet users is on continuous rise, so is the case of young

Internet users with the social media, European Union has got a new platform to the member

countries to increase trade digitally. (The economy | European Union, 2020)

Economic development in Transport sector

The European Union has provided member countries with a smooth as well as efficient

transport system by the help of which member countries can easily import and export their

goods with different freight and logistics services. The policy of EU for this passenger and

freight transport system is alike for common public and businesses. This policy has been

designed to encourage and promote clean, safe, efficient, and effective trade and travel across

the Europe to assist member countries the most. (The economy | European Union, 2020)

Economic development in renewable energy sector

EU is not far behind giving its contribution to the renewable energy sources like wind power,

biofuels, tidal energy, solar energy, hydro power, geothermal energy, as well as renewable

part of waste. This has led to many potential benefits to the economic development such as

lowering the rate emission of greenhouse gases, diversifying sources of energy, and

mitigating the dependency on fossil fuel market as acquiring and utilizing oil and gas are

challenging and costly so it has come up with renewable energy sources for more efficient

and effective systems.

The use of renewable energy has seen a huge growth over the last few years in the European

Union which can be said to have double the share in gross final energy consumption of

people in recent years. (The economy | European Union, 2020)

Role of European Union in political development

European Union was created after the hype of Second World War to foster political

cooperation and economic growth, to bring nations close to promote trade and avoid

conflicts. The EU has been formed with certain goals to help the politics grow which are

promoting peace, Liberty, wellbeing of citizens, sustainable development, security and

justice, balanced economic growth, Environmental Protection, economic and monetary union

with the country is having the same currency i.e., euro, price stability, cultural and linguistic

diversity, social progression, scientific and technological advancement, exclusion of

discrimination, enhancement of economic, social, and territorial cohesion among member

countries. (The EU in brief | European Union, 2020)

Role of EU in European Economic Community (EEC)

The EU formed European Economic Community (EEC) back in 1958 which created a

coordination among six different states of EU: France, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Germany,

and Luxembourg. This has been very fruitful to date as further 22 other members of the union

have joined it and have formed an Internal market which is dedicated to continuous

development and growth. (The EU in brief | European Union, 2020)

The political and economic growth of different countries around the world is sponsored

by the European Union, and Jordan is one such country. The EU helps Jordan in various ways

through the "Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy" (NIMD). It was through NIMD

that the EU initiated a four-year programme, which began in 2017, aimed at fostering both

democratic growth and the use of EQ-JDID by institutions. The goal of this EU project was

to support reform processes that could eventually help consolidate the reform process in

Jordan (Steinebach and Knill, 2017). Subsequently, this has led to the achievement of a more
inclusive and tolerant political culture in Jordan by involving young people and women not

just in national policy matters, but also in the general decision-making processes.

The EU finances the EU-JDID project and it is also implemented by a committee chaired

by the European Electoral Support Centre (ECES), which consists not only of NIMD, but

also of the French Media Cooperation Agency (CFI) and the European Partnership for

Democracy (EPDD) (Jordan et al., 2019). Via the NIMD, the EU is known to do three

important things in its ability: to carry out political preparation for key parties, to hold dialog

sessions and to develop capacity for different organisations. This, thus, offers the necessary

support to allow the 'interparty dialogue types' to be carried out.

1.1 Role of Social Media in Spreading Awareness about Women

1.2 Statement of the Problem

It isa shared fact that no country can live successfully, internally or externally,

without the support of the other stockholders (Ni et al., 2018). While some of the issues

affecting countries worldwide, Jordan included requiring homegrown solutions, other aspects

ultimately require external problems. Like any other country, Jordan also has some

challenges to solve. Therefore, the European Union plays an important role by supporting

Jordan's political and economic development in various ways.

1.3 Study objectives

The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the influence which the European Union

has played in facilitating political changes in Jordan. In general, this research attempts to

determine how the EU leads to the strengthening of political groups in Jordan, not only

through the internal governance of the country, but rather through the support and
 organisation of women and youth, so that they can engage effectively in public political life.

In addition, this study also attempted to evaluate how the EU supports the political

development of Jordan by describing the various ways in which it allows political parties to

answer any concerns or queries they have around issues related to inter-party relations and

the administration of such parties in a respectful way. Thus, the goal is to see how the EU

explores multi-faceted techniques to foster more critical institutions and to create bridges

between people and elected institutions in Jordan, thereby strengthening democracy.

Another significant aim of this article is to identify the role that the European Union

has played in promoting Jordan's economic growth. This research paper aims to identify the

potential economic benefits that Jordan has gained as a central and important partner of the

EU in this area. Therefore, the goal is to address the numerous economic partnerships that the

EU has entered with Jordan and the benefits of such partnerships and alliances. Lastly, the

study recognizes the challenges affecting the European Union in promoting Jordan's

economic and political developments. It is important to consider such issues because it helps

to ensure that they are completely understood and thus rectified.

1.4 Research questions

Major question

What significant role does the European Union (EU) play in supporting the political and

economic developments in Jordan?

Secondary Questions

● What is the role played by the European Union in supporting the political developments in

Jordan?

● What is the role played by the European Union in supporting the economic developments in

Jordan?
● What are the challenges faced by the European Union in supporting the economic and

political developments in Jordan?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

H1- European Union (EU) plays significant role in supporting the political and economic

developments in Jordan?

H0- European Union (EU) does not play significant role in supporting the political and

economic developments in Jordan?

1.6 Study Scope

To gather relevant information on the European Union's role in supporting economic

and political development in Jordan, the researcher has utilized the secondary data collection

method. The researcher has used textbooks, newspapers, articles, and relevant websites to

gather the data regarding the topic (Seeberg and Shteiwi, 2017). The researcher has analysed

data through content analysis method and ultimately converted it into viable information used

to compile the paper.

1.7 Study Limitations

During the study, the researcher encountered several challenges and limitations. One

of the study limitations is that the researcher had difficulties in getting the relevant materials

or literature due to limited research available related to the research study (Elseoud et al.

2019). In addition to that, financial problems were encountered by the researcher, as various

resources were availed during the study.

1.8 Operational Definition of Terms

Union-a formation comprising of an entity of people or groups with common ideas and

values.

Economic development- a rise in the production of products and services for a given period.

Political development- increased national political unity as well as increased political

involvement.
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