MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION
on EU strategy towards Iran after the nuclear agreement
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the joint statement made by the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR), Federica Mogherini, and the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on 16 April 2016 in Tehran,
– having regard to UN Security Council resolution 2231 (2015) adopted on 20 July 2015,
– having regard to the Council conclusions on the agreement on Iran's nuclear programme of 20 July 2015,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on Iran, in particular those of 10 March 2011 on the EU’s approach towards Iran[1], 14 June 2012 on the situation of ethnic minorities in Iran[2], 17 November 2011 on Iran – recent cases of human rights violations[3], and of 3 April 2014 on the EU strategy towards Iran[4],
– having regard to the EU Strategic Framework and Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy; having regard to the EU Annual Reports on Human Rights,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on the EU Annual Reports on Human Rights;
– having regard to its resolution of 8 October 2015 on the death penalty[5],
– having regard to the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran of 10 March 2016, to his recent statements of 20 May and 8 June 2016 expressing concern on imprisonments of human rights defenders and the recent wave of incitement of hatred of the Baha'i community, and to the report of the UN Secretary-General of 3 March 2016 on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran,
– having regard to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 70/173 on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran (A/RES/70/173), adopted on 17 December 2015,
– having regard to the statement by the VP/HR Federica Mogherini on the execution of a juvenile offender in Iran of 14 October 2015 and on the condemnation of Iranian human rights defender Narges Mohammadi of 20 May 2016,
– having regard to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure,
– having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on International Trade (A8-0000/2016),
A. whereas following the Iran Nuclear Deal and internal political developments in Iran, there is now an opportunity for reforms in the country and for improvement of its relations with the European Union;
EU-Iran relations
Political dialogue
1. Believes that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), otherwise known as the Iran Nuclear Deal, was a notable achievement for multilateral diplomacy, and for European diplomacy in particular, which should not only make a substantial improvement in EU-Iran relations possible but also help to promote stability across the whole region; believes all sides are now responsible for ensuring its strict and full implementation; welcomes the establishment of the Joint Commission comprised of representatives of Iran and the E3/EU+3 (China, France, Germany, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States, with the VP/HR); fully supports the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy in her role as Coordinator of the Joint Commission established under the JCPOA, and believes that strict and full implementation of the JCPOA continues to be of utmost importance;
2. Welcomes the visit to Iran, on 16 April 2016, of VP/HR Mogherini together with seven European commissioners as an important milestone towards setting an ambitious agenda for bilateral EU-Iran relations in areas of mutual interest; notes that several Commission statements and EU delegations to Iran – the latest of which comprised the Vice-President / High Representative and seven Commissioners – have focused on trade and economic ties;
3. 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 allows a reengagement with Iran and will create opportunities and benefits for both sides, by providing the potential to reopen the Iranian market for European businesses; recalls that Iran has a large, relatively highly educated and young population, has one of the most diverse GDP compositions in the region, needs investment and is a potential market for high-quality European goods;
4. Welcomes openness in the relations with Iran; points out that the development of EU‑Iran relations should advance hand in hand with the implementation of the nuclear agreement/JCPOA; recalls that under the terms of the agreement a failure in its implementation by Iran can lead to the reintroduction of sanctions; encourages a renewed relationship between the EU and its Member States, and Iran, with both sides working closely on bilateral and multilateral issues to ensure a more stable region and effective implementation of the nuclear deal; believes that EU-Iran relations should be developed through multi-layered dialogue involving political, diplomatic, economic, academic, technical, and people-to-people contacts that include civil society actors, NGOs and human rights defenders; supports the opening of EU‑Iran relations for the mutual benefit of both parties, based on a realistic assessment of common interests and differences, with a view to encouraging step-by-step expansion of cooperation in a climate of confidence-building, first and foremost for the benefit of the peoples of Iran and the EU; supports, in this regard, the European Union’s commitment to a renewed engagement with Iran based on ‘a dialogue of the four Cs’: a dialogue that is comprehensive in scope; cooperative in the fields where Iran and the EU have mutual interests; critical, open and frank in areas where Iran and the EU disagree but are looking for common ground; and, overall, constructive in tone and practice;
5. Welcomes the institutional changes made within the European External Action Service (EEAS) to reflect the results of the JCPOA, in particular the establishment of an Iran Task Force in the EEAS with the objective of coordinating the different strands of action of all Iran-related issues; welcomes the steps taken by the EEAS for the establishment of an EU Delegation in Tehran, as called for in previous EP resolutions, as it will allow the EU to work with the Iranian authorities to enable better public knowledge within the country about the EU itself, to counter misunderstandings and to build a growing cooperation between the EU and Iran; emphasises, in this regard, that trade and investment are EU competences, and that the establishment of an EU Delegation in Tehran would facilitate EU-Iran cooperation in the fields of trade, education, culture, human rights and environmental sustainability, and strongly contributing to the fulfilment of the expectations of both sides; underlines that Euronews Farsi should in the future also be an important media bridge between the European Union and Persian-speaking audiences;
6. Recalls that the EU and Iran have decided to face issues of common concern in a constructive manner; calls for an EU strategy for re-engagement with Iran to be based, initially, on confidence-building measures in technical areas that would create positive precedents of EU-Iranian joint work and could pave the way for more meaningful long‑term cooperation;
7. Insists on the importance of developing the parliamentary dimension of EU-Iran relations as part of the strategy for re-establishing mutual trust; reiterates its support, in this regard, for the proposal discussed between Parliament and the Majlis for an interparliamentary dialogue on counter-terrorism as a recognition of the common challenges of radicalisation in Iran, across the Middle East and within the EU itself; welcomes the renewed political dialogue between the EU and Iran, including on human rights; encourages the development of a human rights dialogue in the future to include representatives of the judiciary, security forces and civil society; recognises that while there is suspicion and mistrust on both sides, there is also a long history between many Member States and Iran and that Iran has the ambition to have good relations with the EU, which provides the potential for a relationship based on mutual trust and respect; recognises the complexities of Iran's own internal politics and reiterates that the EU does not seek to interfere in internal political choices in this country or in any other, but seeks cooperation based on mutual respect for international standards and principles; believes that full normalisation of relations can only occur in parallel with continued implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) by means of regular and sustained dialogue, and that the immediate priority should be to broaden the scope of EU-Iran relations in areas where there is common agreement to do so; believes, however, that the ultimate aim must be the establishment of a partnership between Iran and the EU;
8. Reiterates the European Union’s strong, principled and long-standing opposition to the death penalty in all cases and under all circumstances, and emphasises once again that the abolition of the death penalty is a key objective of EU human rights and foreign policy; remains highly critical of Iran's frequent use of the death penalty; sees it as a major objective within the political dialogue to reduce the application of the death penalty; calls for an immediate moratorium on the carrying out of death sentences in Iran; notes that most of the executions are for drug-related offences; understands the challenge faced by Iran as one of the main drug transit routes in the world, with 86 % of worldwide seizures of opium taking place on its territory; nevertheless believes that engagement on death penalty concerns such as the use of the death penalty for drug-related offences and against individuals under the age of 18, both of which violate Iran's voluntarily accepted international commitments under human rights and humanitarian law, could provide a common agenda for addressing this question; calls on the Members of the Iranian Parliament as a first step to revise Article 91 of the 2013 penal code in order to abolish the death penalty for people under 18 years of age; notes the presentation of a bill to the Iranian parliament that, if approved, would reduce the punishment for non-violent drug-related crimes from death to life imprisonment; notes that, if approved, the bill could significantly reduce the number of executions in Iran;
9. Underlines the fact that eliminating the death penalty for drug-related offences would drastically reduce the number of executions (by up to 80 % according to Iranian estimates); calls for EU-Iran cooperation in the fight against the illegal drug trade as one way of addressing the issue of executions in the country, while respecting human rights norms; calls on the Commission to provide technical assistance and administrative capacity-building aimed at bolstering the rule of law in Iran, including by promoting reform of the justice system to improve accountability and alternatives to imprisonment and the death penalty; calls on the Commission to ensure that any technical or other assistance offered to Iran is not used to commit human rights violations;
Trade and economic matters
10. Takes note of Iran’s stated objective of achieving a yearly growth rate of 8 %; believes that European investments are key to Iran’s achieving this goal; underlines the fact that the European Union does not stand in the way of permitted business activity with Iran, and will not stand in the way of international firms’ or financial institutions' engaging with Iran, as long as they follow all applicable laws; stresses that for Iran to realise its economic potential, it will have to take steps to create a transparent economic environment conducive to international investment and take anti-corruption measures at all levels, particularly regarding compliance with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) addressing questions such as the cessation of financial flows to terrorist organisations; calls on the EU to fully support Iran’s efforts in this process via, in particular, support for work towards forging a bilateral investment treaty between the EU and Iran;
11. Stresses that trade and renewed access to the global rule-based trading system is a potential way to break Iran’s isolation, and that trade could be an important tool for strengthening the political dialogue and stimulating cooperation among countries in the region, with a view to increasing regional development, employment and stability in the wider region;
12. Notes that Iran is the second-largest economy in the Middle East, with an estimated nominal GDP of USD 397 billion in 2015; further notes that EU trade with Iran currently stands at about USD 8 billion and is expected to quadruple in the next two years; recalls that the EU used to be Iran's main trading partner and believes it should aim at recovering that position; supports the expansion of the EU's trading relationship with Iran, and calls for the EU to develop commercial, financial and economic cooperation with Iran, in the interest of improved living conditions and employment of the Iranian people and increased regional development; believes the expansion of trade and investment with Iran can, in the long term, contribute to promoting peace and stability in the wider region, if the EU can seek opportunities for regional investment schemes, for example in relation to energy and transport connectivity;
13. Takes the view that, although many contracts have been signed with European firms, Iran is unable to honour its commitments because of a lack of liquidity, meaning that the process of opening up Iran is caught in a vicious circle;
14. Notes that Iran is the world’s largest economy outside the WTO; supports Iran’s bid to join the WTO; notes that the current EU mandate for negotiations for a Trade and Cooperation Agreement with Iran is outdated; calls on the Commission to explore options for strengthening trade and investment ties with the aim of bringing Iran more closely into line with WTO rules and protecting European investment; stresses that a formal negotiation framework would allow the EU to use its full leverage as the largest integrated market and economic bloc and to create a forum for exchange and dialogue; 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 rule‑based system, provide a mechanism to support necessary economic reforms with Iran and hold Iran to account on international commitments; calls on the Commission to use these negotiations as an opportunity to push for key labour rights reforms, based on the ILO's core conventions; is concerned about the delay in the appointment of a chair of the WTO working group on Iran´s accession; calls on the Commission to fully exert its influence in order to remove this obstacle without delay and start the process of Iran´s accession to the WTO; believes that, to conclude the accession process, Iran should be removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Public Statement list;
15. Considers the lack of freedom of expression online, the systemic surveillance and monitoring of internet traffic and the lack of digital freedoms to be an obstacle to trade with Iran, as well as a violation of people's rights and freedoms; underlines the potential of an open and safe internet in Iran for the digital economy; reiterates its call for an effective European export control regime to prevent dual-use goods and technologies from being misused for human rights violations and against the EU;
16. Stresses also the importance for Iran to develop economic and trade relations with regional players, with due regard for WTO rules, with a view to forming a cohesive economic and trading bloc; points out that the EU can provide its expertise and backing for developing and building this regional dialogue;
17. Believes that the lifting of the nuclear-related economic and financial sanctions by the EU and the international community, as laid down in the JCPOA, is an important element in demonstrating that the EU has implemented its commitments towards Iran, as well as in providing evidence of the willingness to strengthen economic cooperation for the mutual economic benefit; notes, however, that while most economic and financial sanctions have now been lifted, some remain in place and are not affected by the nuclear deal; calls on the EU to engage EU-based business companies to ensure full transparency of their activities in Iran; calls for emphasis to be placed on the quality as well as the quantity of investments, and for an initiative to assess whether new investments uphold the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights similar to that undertaken when sanctions were lifted in Myanmar/Burma; notes that the effective implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility gui
