Official Chides EU Insufficiency in Face of U.S.

Date: 12 December 2018 - 21:38

News ID: ۶۰۷۳۵

TEHRAN (Dispatches) – An adviser to the Iranian parliament speaker has criticized the European Union for insufficiency vis-à-vis U.S. sanctions against Tehran and for failing to put a much-promised special purpose vehicle (SPV) for trade with Iran into operation.
"The European Union should make practical efforts to counter U.S. sanctions against Iran,” senior adviser to the Iranian parliament speaker Hussein Amir Abdollahian told Tarja Cronberg, a member of the Executive Board of the European Leadership Network.
"Europe’s political and media stances on countering unilateral U.S. measures are laudable but Europe’s slowness in taking practical measures is unacceptable,” he said.
"Time is running out for Europe in such a significant matter,” Amir Abdollahian said. He said the EU must take practical steps toward bringing SPV into operation soon.
Cronberg said Europe is looking for ways to save the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which she described as a perfect model for political settlement of conflicts.
For months, the Europeans have been working on a virtual clearing house to process Iran-related transactions independent of the U.S.
The three main countries behind the initiative - Germany, France and the UK – say they have set up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to facilitate non-dollar trade with Iran.
However, they appear to be passing the buck on who should take the responsibility for the system and house it.
Last month, Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi said he had warned the Europeans that Iranian patience was wearing thin.
Salehi said while the European Union’s efforts were encouraging, "we have not yet seen any tangible results.”
Iran is disappointed with a mass exodus of major European companies which began even before the sanctions kicked in after President Donald Trump announced pulling the US out of the nuclear deal in May.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Monday the European Union will establish the SPV to facilitate non-dollar transactions with Iran by the year-end.
"I will expect this instrument to be established in the coming weeks before the end of the year as a way to protect and promote legitimate business,” Mogherini told reporters in Brussels.
The top EU diplomat did not offer any other details following a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers in Brussels, but said work on creating the mechanism was "advancing well.”