The European Union and Iran: What Next?

Abstract

EU-Iranian relations have reached a stalemate. EU engagement with Iran makes sense as long as it is accompanied by stringent sanctions that are imposed by the international community (i.e. E3 + 3 format and UNSC) and that focus on the nuclear file only. In the end, such an approach could allow the EU to find that delicate balance between the US position of imposing sanctions for the sake of sanctioning, thereby rendering them ineffective, and a Russian-Chinese position of applying minimal sanctions that would make them equally inefficient.

Notes

¹ On this, see the relevant chapters in Posch, “Iranian Challenges”.

² E3/EU means the EU's “Big Three”, Great Britain, France and Germany, plus the High Representative for the EU's Common Security and Foreign Policy, Javier Solana; the E3+3 implies the same states plus Russia, China and the US; P5+1 is actually the same as E3+3, however it underscores the role of the five permanent members of the UNSC (P5) plus Germany. Javier Solana's office is crucially involved in all formats. Hence, the formulation E3+3 has become standard in the EU.

³ El-Baradei, Implementation of the NPT Safeguards.

⁴ On Iran and the NPT regime, see Chubin, Iran's Nuclear Ambitions.