The European Union’s (EU) ambassador to Jordan Pierre-Christophe Chatzisavas said Wednesday that the Union’s position on the Palestinian issue is clear, transparent and supportive of the two-state solution. Chatzisavas made the remark while attending a ceremony for the completion of the “Reducing Energy Consumption of Green Buildings” Irbid-based project. In light of the recent aggression on Gaza, the envoy stressed that the EU’s position is consistent with the firm Jordanian position rejecting the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, underscoring that His Majesty King Abdullah II is leading international diplomacy toward stopping the war and putting an end to the escalation. He noted that the European Union shares this goal with Jordan and strongly supports it. The world, he indicated, must heed King Abdullah’s warnings about the danger of not resolving the Palestinian issue according to the two-state solution, as there is no peace or stability without it. Chatzisavas also underlined that humanitarian actions, providing water and electricity, and not targeting civilians are among the most important tenets of international conventions in situations of war and conflict. On the completion of the project, he said that its goal is to deal seriously and realistically with the effects of climate change by relying on renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions to zero percent, noting that Jordan is one of the countries with which the union cooperates closely in this field, by providing grants and loans that contribute to the transition to green energy. He also pointed out that the largest share of the union’s support to Jordan goes to the energy and water sectors. He hailed Jordan’s efforts to shift towards green energy, which rose from 1 percent in 2014 to 27 percent last year, expressing his happiness with the results of the project implemented in cooperation with the Irbid Municipality. Mayor of the Greater Irbid Municipality Nabil Kufahi stated that the central municipal building had been completely transformed into a green building, pointing out that a similar project had begun in the buildings located on municipality-owned lands in cooperation with Yarmouk University and civil society organizations. He stated that the cost of the green energy project for the municipal building amounted to 2.2 million euros, of which the municipality contributed JD400,000, commending the European Union’s support for the municipality and achieving its ambitions to be a smart city that rakes in investments.

Source: Jordan News Agency