On the evening of Tuesday 16 July, MEPs called on the European Union to do even more to preserve the Iranian nuclear agreement and reduce tensions in the Persian Gulf, an already particularly volatile region.
Czech MEP Michaela Šojdrová, on behalf of the EPP, and Croatian Tonino Picula, on behalf of the S&D, asked the EU to do its utmost to preserve the agreement, despite the US withdrawal. Frenchwoman Nathalie Loiseau of Renew Europe considers that the EU has an even greater responsibility to preserve the agreement since the United States has withdrawn.
“It is important to take all necessary measures to ensure tangible benefits while reminding Iran that it must respect the agreement”, Picula said, stressing that the EU must remain firm and united and must support international law.
However, for this to happen, Europe must also appear stronger, according to several MEPs. Thus, Ana Fotyga (Poland), on behalf of the ECR, said that European measures did not seem effective and that the EU needed to be much more determined. To Hannah Neumann (Greens/EFA, Germany), the nuclear agreement is under threat because “EU policy is not powerful enough to counterbalance the escalation”. “In the coming weeks, our mission is to ensure that this conflict does not escalate in an area that is already in conflict”, she added.
The same message was delivered by Clare Daly (GUE/NGL, Ireland), who welcomed the European denunciations of US sanctions, which she compared to an “act of war, criminal [...] as destructive as missiles”. In her opinion, however, denouncing is not enough.
“American injunctions are the rule, and EU resistance is the exception. We must act like adults and get the economic machine working again with Iran”, added Emmanuel Maurel (GUE/NGL, France).
The EU needs its allies to act. “All members of the UN Security Council must do everything possible to avoid an escalation”, said Šojdrová, while Klemen Groselj (RE, Slovenia) said that the EU and its international partners must promote comprehensive actions to stabilise the region.
In response to MEPs, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, recalled that the Instex mechanism is operational and that the EU has updated its blocking law. “Without the nuclear agreement, the situation in the Middle East - which is already complicated enough - would be much more difficult than it is now”, she observed, recalling that the EU supported communication between the countries of the region and, in particular, the Iraqi proposal for a regional conference. "No one says he wants a war, no one declares that war is the intention [...] But the problem, especially in a region like this, is that miscalculations can occur and lead to an extremely dangerous spiral of confrontations”, she warned. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)