EU should be 'part of the game' on Iran, Michel says
EU Council president Charles Michel on Thursday (9 January)urged Iran to comply with the 2015 nuclear deal in a phone call with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and urged the EU to have a more assertive foreign policy.
"Just spoke with Hassan Rouhani about recent developments.JCPOA remains crucial for global security. I called Iran not to pose irreversible acts," Michel tweeted.
"It's very important for the European Union not only to observe what the others would decide for us but it's important for the European Union to be an actor, to be a player," Michel said, standing alongside Andrej Plenković, the prime minister of Croatia, which took over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU at the start of this month.
On one level, the statement was an inherent, if heartfelt, admission that the EU has until now been sidelined, sitting on the bench, hoping for its chance. On another level, it left Michelvulnerable to criticism that he regards the conflict in the MiddleEast as a mere "game.
"I want Europe [to be] part of the game," Michel, who took office at the start of December, told reporters in the Croatian capital, Zagreb. "I want Europe to be more involved at an external level," Iran said on Sunday that it was stepping back from its commitments under the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), that was aimed to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.
The EU council chief's efforts come as the bloc aims to play a more assertive role, globally, between China, Russia, and an increasingly unpredictable and protectionist US.
EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen described her new EU executive as "geopolitical" even though EU member states in the past have struggled to come to an agreement on
foreign affairs issues.
Voicing his dissent, Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orban told reports in Budapest on Thursday (9 January) he wants the European position on the US-Iran conflict to be more in line with that held by the US and Israel.
The EU's reinforced commitment to the deal comes as tensions spiked after the US killed Iran's key military operative QassimSuleimani last week.US president Donald Trump on Wednesday called on the senior players in the EU - France, German and the UK - to "break away from the remnants" of the Iran deal. The US already withdrew from the treaty in 2018.
The former Belgian prime minister defended the nuclear agreement while talking to journalists in Zagreb.
"The pact is not a perfect treaty, not a perfect agreement, but it'san agreement negotiated for more than 10 years. It means itis a channel for negotiations and a channel of communication," he said, "That's why I had the occasion this morning to have a long discussion with president Rouhani to see how it is possible for the EU to play a stronger role in the region," Michel said.
Michel was the very first EU leader to react to the controversialU.S. drone strike that killed a top Iranian general, QassemSoleimani, last Friday. And in recent days, he has engaged in a frenzy of consultations, including with both Washington and Tehran, to call for de-escalation, as well as with European leaders like British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and with Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat.
Michel also plans to speak again on Friday with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. one official said Michel had publicly announced his plans to visit turkey and Egypt because he is confident the talks would be substantive.
The civil war in Libya is especially dangerous for the EU. Libya has Africa's largest oil reserves, and it is the point of origin for many migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean and reach Europe. But as EU nations disagreed among themselves, the role of Turkey and Russia grew, particularly at the expense of Italy and France, which have offered support to rival sides in Libya.
Michel described his own meetings on Libya, including with Libyan factions, before saying that here also the EU has a greater potential to fulfill. "At the moment we face real difficulties in Libya ... with potential difficult consequences for Europe, that's [it] is important to be more involved. And also in Iran and Iraq [it] is important to be part of the discussion."
"Just spoke with Hassan Rouhani about recent developments.JCPOA remains crucial for global security. I called Iran not to pose irreversible acts," Michel tweeted.
"It's very important for the European Union not only to observe what the others would decide for us but it's important for the European Union to be an actor, to be a player," Michel said, standing alongside Andrej Plenković, the prime minister of Croatia, which took over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU at the start of this month.
On one level, the statement was an inherent, if heartfelt, admission that the EU has until now been sidelined, sitting on the bench, hoping for its chance. On another level, it left Michelvulnerable to criticism that he regards the conflict in the MiddleEast as a mere "game.
"I want Europe [to be] part of the game," Michel, who took office at the start of December, told reporters in the Croatian capital, Zagreb. "I want Europe to be more involved at an external level," Iran said on Sunday that it was stepping back from its commitments under the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), that was aimed to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.
The EU council chief's efforts come as the bloc aims to play a more assertive role, globally, between China, Russia, and an increasingly unpredictable and protectionist US.
EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen described her new EU executive as "geopolitical" even though EU member states in the past have struggled to come to an agreement on
foreign affairs issues.
Voicing his dissent, Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orban told reports in Budapest on Thursday (9 January) he wants the European position on the US-Iran conflict to be more in line with that held by the US and Israel.
The EU's reinforced commitment to the deal comes as tensions spiked after the US killed Iran's key military operative QassimSuleimani last week.US president Donald Trump on Wednesday called on the senior players in the EU - France, German and the UK - to "break away from the remnants" of the Iran deal. The US already withdrew from the treaty in 2018.
The former Belgian prime minister defended the nuclear agreement while talking to journalists in Zagreb.
"The pact is not a perfect treaty, not a perfect agreement, but it'san agreement negotiated for more than 10 years. It means itis a channel for negotiations and a channel of communication," he said, "That's why I had the occasion this morning to have a long discussion with president Rouhani to see how it is possible for the EU to play a stronger role in the region," Michel said.
Michel was the very first EU leader to react to the controversialU.S. drone strike that killed a top Iranian general, QassemSoleimani, last Friday. And in recent days, he has engaged in a frenzy of consultations, including with both Washington and Tehran, to call for de-escalation, as well as with European leaders like British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and with Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat.
Michel also plans to speak again on Friday with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. one official said Michel had publicly announced his plans to visit turkey and Egypt because he is confident the talks would be substantive.
The civil war in Libya is especially dangerous for the EU. Libya has Africa's largest oil reserves, and it is the point of origin for many migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean and reach Europe. But as EU nations disagreed among themselves, the role of Turkey and Russia grew, particularly at the expense of Italy and France, which have offered support to rival sides in Libya.
Michel described his own meetings on Libya, including with Libyan factions, before saying that here also the EU has a greater potential to fulfill. "At the moment we face real difficulties in Libya ... with potential difficult consequences for Europe, that's [it] is important to be more involved. And also in Iran and Iraq [it] is important to be part of the discussion."
Comments
Post a Comment