EU seeks closer partnership with Jordan to support Syria with focus on trade and migration

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will announce new investments in Jordan during the first ever EU-Jordan Summit taking place in Amman on Thursday, as the bloc looks to play a stabilising role in a region ravaged by conflict.

Alongside the European Council António Costa, von der Leyen will meet with King Abdullah II before continuing her trip in Syria and then Lebanon.

To prop up Jordan, the EU has pledged €3 billion in loans and investments, mainly dedicated to trade, energy, security and migration – a top issue for the Europeans – and is expected to announce a fresh round of investments in Jordan during the visit.

Jordan is a key country for the EU in the region, where Brussels seeks to play bigger political role as a stabilising force after the damage wrought by the wars in Syria and Gaza.

The EU has adopted a tougher line on migration, with a focus on returns and asylum requests. Following the outbreak of the civil war in Syria in 2011, millions left the war-torn country for European countries, many of them travelling via highly dangerous routes.

A decade later, with the country in transition following the collapse of the Assad regime, European countries have u-turned on their asylum policies and adopted a much harder line.

With Syria in transition after Bashar al-Assad's fall, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was among the first to suggest that Syrians would have to return to their country to "rebuild it".

In 2024, EU countries granted protection status to 437,900 asylum seekers, up 6.9% compared with 2023. International bodies argue that, while the war has ended, the situation on the ground remains volatile and potentially dangerous for minorities.

Israel-Palestine relations in focus

A staunch supporter of Palestine, Jordan has called on the EU to play a role in the reconstruction of Gaza after phase one of the ceasefire deal orchestrated by the Trump administration come into effect last year.

The EU has pledged €1.6 billion for 2025-27 in support for Palestine under the aegis of the Palestinian authority.

Jordan, which fiercely opposed the forced relocation of Palestinians in Gaza initially proposed by the Trump administration, has called on the international community to throw its political support behind the construction and recognition of a full-fledged Palestinian state.

Fourteen EU member states now recognise Palestinian statehood, among them Spain and France.

The EU, alongside the Arab League, has long called for a political solution to the conflict, reiterating that establishing the foundations of a fully functioning Palestinian state within a two-state framework is the only way to ensure peace and stability in the region.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has referred to recognition as a prize for Hamas, while the US under Trump has categorically refused to recognise the state of Palestine.