MEPs spoke with one voice in plenary on Monday 14 December to call on the European Commission to come up with new tools to fight extraterritorial sanctions.
These include retaliatory measures taken by non-Member States against other nations that have repercussions for European companies. This is the case, for example, with the sanctions taken by the United States against Iran.
European Parliament Trade Committee Chair Bernd Lange (S&D, Germany) called for the EU to equip itself with effective instruments, including financial ones, to defend European companies currently suffering from these sanctions. From left to right in the Chamber, his colleagues supported the request, with the same concern of defending European businesses and seeing an increase in EU sovereignty.
The Commissioner for Financial Services, Mairead McGuinness, responded to this request by recalling the various actions put in place. In particular, she mentioned the Instex platform, which is intended to facilitate trade with Iran. Launched in 2019 at the initiative of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, it has since been joined by other Member States. “The European Commission is examining the progress of Instex to see if it can be used as a basis for further action”, said Commissioner McGuinness. She also announced that the European Commission would publish a communication on the measures to be taken in this area in early 2021. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)