The EU Gathers Ranks

This is a European rule dating back to 1996, when Europe went around an embargo against Cuba, a disagreement that was eventually settled at a political level.

This law is back at the forefront as the US decided to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal, and has to be adjusted by August 6, when Washington starts applying sanctions. This set of blocking status rules allows European companies and courts to avoid third party sanctions, and stipulates that no foreign court rules need apply to EU countries. It is about protecting international companies where there is European involvement in the face of decisions from the American administration, as explained by Euro MP Iuliu Winkler.

Iuliu Winkler: "The United States has parted with multilateralism. The US is in a process of attacking the World Trade Organisation. They are discontent with the Organisation, they are discontent with the multilateral trade agreements into which, according to president Trump, the US has been duped. Now the US is pulling out of an accord that, in my opinion, is crucial for the Middle East. This assault on multilateralism is the expression of the lone wolf tactics that President Trump follows. Multilateralism is essential for Europe and the EU both for trade and the economy, as well as for geopolitical and strategic international relations."

Brussels has also decided to allow the European Investment Bank to facilitate European investment in Iran. The head of European diplomacy, Federica Mogherini, said that there was no alternative to the agreement with Iran, in reply to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who invoked 12 drastic conditions for a new accord with Tehran, which limited the Iranian nuclear programme in exchange for lifting sanctions.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that no one in the EU believes that the Iran deal is perfect, but that it is needed, and there is a need to continue negotiating with Iran on various other themes, including that of ballistic missiles. Analysing the EU reaction to the decision made by the White House, Adrian Mitroi, professor of international relations with the Bucharest School of Economics, said that Europe's swing between trade and global strategy is very complicated.

According to him, we are in a very interesting, and possibly critical area, an area in which the pressure is on the price of oil, which on short term would probably result in a slight economic slowdown. One should not forget in this equation the dependence of Europe on Russian natural gas, and the fact that Washington is against these trade relations. We asked Adrian Mitroi if the EU may hope to become one of the powerhouses of the planet alongside the US, Russia, and China.

Adrian Mitroi: "Honestly, I don't think so. The EU has lost a lot in terms of foreign policy. Europe is not too active in foreign policy terms. The American continent has managed quite well, the EU does not have a single treasury, which means that policies are slightly offset. Here we are more sensitive to a stronger dollar or higher interest rates on the dollar. The fact that we are in a full process of reforming the EU, and I include here the economic part, a common treasury, all these good things that would have granted us economic strength, are slowing us down."

However, according to Adrian Mitroi, Europe has the great advantage of having more things that tie people together than the other way around.