EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has confirmed that beginning Friday, a 1996 “blocking statute” aimed at preventing the enforcement of the US sanctions against Iran will be brought back into effect. The law was initially passed to prevent the US blocking EU companies from trading with Cuba.
EU officials have been negotiating the matter all week, as an attempt to try to save the P5+1 nuclear deal with Iran after the US withdrew, and started re implementing sanctions. EU leaders have agreed that the entire union will work together in protecting the deal.
The blocking statute explicitly forbids European companies from complying with any nuclear-related US sanctions against Iran. It also mandates that the EU states will not recognize any foreign court rulings trying to enforce the sanctions against those companies.
Two major EU companies, Germany’s Siemens and France’s Total S.A. had previously indicated they’d stop Iran deals for fear of punishment from the US. With the law passed, they now have considerable protection.
To save the nuclear deal, Iran has said the other parties have to ensure that sanction relief remains intact without US participation. Since the US wasn’t complying with the deal either way, all that really means is keeping the US from blocking the rest of the world from dealing with Iran
Great news..hope the EU really sticks with it, and tells Uncle Sam to take a hike!
The entire world is sick & tired of schoolyard bully USA.
Choice was easy, if you stop fearing the US long enough to think clearly. Loss of influence, loss of revenue, loss of unsaturated almost untapped markets, and vassalization in all but name.
Bad things happen to those who defy the Golem.
Old europe went to dentist and its teeth are better now than ever.
Good, Europe needs to pull it’s own fat,
maintaining the Iranian “deal” will suppress the world price of oil,
further reduce US EU interdependence,
and give teeth to punishing or pulling out of Euro nations who refuse to meet NATO obligations.
The sooner NATO dies of it’s own weight, the better.
Europe must learn to go it alone.
Nothing could be better for the average American than the dissolution of the vassal status of Europe to the U.S. and the end of NATO.
Who cares about the average American? None of your leaders or “reps” do.
Well, I won’t argue with that, for sure. Our “representatives” don’t represent us at all, but rather, represent the oligarchy.
So, I guess I’ll have to settle for self-interest, as you so correctly imply.
Problem is the U.S. won’t allow these EU companies to do business in the U.S. which means a profit loss for these companies. Not sure how they’re going to get around that. Hope they find a way.
The US does not allow them to do defense work, but then does allow them to do it via agreements with US companies. Same way, they’ll do the business via US combinations, as they already do much of it.
Well, well. The old world fights back!
It will be interesting to see how many other countries than Iran will go on the Euro.
Also: how will this affect the Brexit negotiations with London still a financial hub?
Europeans growing up and growing a pair suddenly? Good for them. But we’ll see. Nutjob scumbags bolton and bibi will probably do a Euro-tour and suddenly the eurocrooks will fold.