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62 I Eurasia bne September 2018
Mogherini is particularly lobbying SMEs, with few or no links to the US, to do business with Iran to profit as well as to protect the nuclear deal.
The blocking statute seeks to protect EU-based firms in a commercial rela- tionship with Iran against action from Washington.
Under the statute, European firms have been instructed that they should not comply with demands from the White House for them to drop all business with Iran. Those who nevertheless opt to
pull out will need to obtain authorisa- tion from the European Commission. Without an authorisation, they face the risk of being sued by EU member states. A mechanism has also been opened to allow EU businesses impacted by the sanctions to sue the US administration in the national courts of member states. The EU is promising to unveil more measures to help secure continued nuclear deal benefits for Iran over com- ing months, but the Iranian centrists will need to see results to convince the hardliners that sticking with the accord is the best way forward.
One other move lately announced by the EU is the provision of a financing channel in Austria for trade with Iran, again mostly with SMEs in mind. But the limitations to the bloc’s efforts were last month shown when even its own lending arm, the Luxembourg- based European Investment Bank (EIB), baulked at moves by Brussels to persuade it to do business with Iran, arguing the funding it raises
in the US would be under threat.
Iran, meanwhile, is working to protect its oil export markets in advance of the second-phase sanctions due in Novem- ber. On August 5, the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, China, reportedly declined a request from Washington envoys to stop importing Iranian crude.
the international community must “not allow such significant achievements in multilateral diplomacy to be sacrificed in the name of American aspirations
to settle political scores with Iran”, the statement added.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Ali Larijani, as saying the country could
opportunities offered in developing
an economy with 80mn inhabitants. Many of the big European companies that do have US links – for instance energy major Total, carmakers Peugeot and Renault, oil, gas and petrochemi- cal group OMV and, according to an announcement made on August 7, Daimler – have already announced con- tinuing to do business with Iran is not
“If there is one piece of international agreements on nuclear non-proliferation that is delivering, it has to be maintained”
actually benefit from the new sanc- tions by focusing efforts on an internal renovation of the economy. “By focusing on the domestic economy, reforming its structure and facilitating investment, the enemies cannot talk to Iran like that from now on because Iran’s resilience
is increasing and this situation offers
a good prospect for the country,” he reportedly said late on August 6.
SMEs urged to explore economy of 80mn
The EU appears to be trying to per- suade largely small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that have no essen- tial links to the US financial system or US markets or assets to stay in Iran,
or move into Iran, to profit from vast
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viable under the current circumstances. But, thanks to a “blocking statute” announced by Brussels, many Euro- pean companies of a far more modest scale might be able to pour into various opportunities.
“European firms have been instructed that they should not comply with demands from the White House”