25.4.2016
DRAFT OPINION
of the Committee on International Trade
for the Committee on Foreign Affairs
on EU strategy towards Iran after the nuclear agreement
(2015/2274(INI))
Rapporteur: Marietje Schaake
SUGGESTIONS
The Committee on International Trade calls on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:
- Recalls that the Council’s decision to lift all nuclear‑related sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran as a result of implementation of its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action provided the potential to reopen the Iranian market for European businesses; recalls that Iran has a large, relatively highly educated population, needs investment and is a potential market for high-quality European goods;
- Notes that while several EU delegations to Iran have focused on trade and economic ties, the delegation from the Commission did not include the Trade Commissioner;
- Stresses that trade and renewed access to the global rules-based trading system is a potential way to break Iran’s self-chosen isolation;
- Expresses concern about the high levels of corruption and trade‑circumventing sanctions, which have lead to a grey economy; stresses, therefore, the need to fight corruption and increase transparency, and for a truly private sector to develop in Iran;
- Emphasises that a potential renewal of trade ties between the EU and Iran must go hand in hand with substantial improvements in respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Iran, and that the EU must use its position as an economic bloc as leverage to improve the living conditions and wellbeing of the Iranian people;
- Notes that some sectors of the Iranian economy are heavily controlled by the regime, potentially creating problems for EU companies in Iran, and that increased trade could strengthen the economic, military and political power of certain unelected individuals;
- Calls on the EU to explore the possibility of restarting Iran’s accession talks with the World Trade Organisation, as membership of the WTO would bring a further liberalisation of Iran’s economy to drive growth, embed the country in the global rules-based system and provide a mechanism to hold the regime to account on commitments made;
- Regrets that the American sanctions still in place restrict EU policy space, obstructing EU companies with US business activities doing business in Iran; calls on the US Government to provide legal certainty and predictability, including by granting waivers, and asks the Commission to increase dialogue and cooperation with the US;
- Underlines the potential of an open and safe internet in Iran for the digital economy; reiterates its call for an effective European export controls regime to prevent certain technologies being misused for human rights violations and against the EU;
- Notes that the effective implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility guidelines is crucial if increased trade relations between the EU and Iran are to have a positive effect on Iranian society as a whole.
