Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-10-12-Speech-3-079"
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"en.20051012.13.3-079"2
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".
Madam President, in the current climate it is inevitable that discussions about Iran focus on its nuclear programme. This is one of the most serious security issues currently on the international agenda. The international community must be united if we are to find a satisfactory solution. This means working through the appropriate channels: first, the International Atomic Energy Agency and, if and when necessary, the United Nations Security Council.
The European Commission remains mobilised on each of these issues. We are fully in line with the European Parliament in saying that, without a systemic improvement of the human rights situation in Iran, our relations with Iran cannot develop properly. Indeed, our relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran is, at present, well below potential: Iran is one of the few countries with which the EU has no contractual relation.
A framework agreement with the EU could facilitate the reintegration of Iran into the international community and contribute to the creation of an environment conducive to economic growth and job creation. This should, in turn, consolidate the indigenous reform process leading towards a more open society. As the presidential campaign demonstrated, these are indeed among the most pertinent demands of the Iranian electorate.
Since 2002, the Commission has led talks for the conclusion of a Trade and Cooperation Agreement – TCA – with Iran. They run parallel to the negotiations led by the EU Presidency for a Political Dialogue Agreement – PDA. These two tracks are indivisible and mutually reinforcing. They are also dependent on the overall political atmosphere. You may recall, when the nuclear crisis first erupted back in 2003, that we had to place our TCA and PDA discussions on hold. These were resumed only after the signature of the November 2004 Paris agreement, which helped to re-establish a more favourable political environment.
The eighth – and so far last – round of negotiations took place in Tehran on 12 and 13 July 2005. Indeed, up and until the most recent crisis over the nuclear issue, our negotiators had made good progress.
This leads me to say a few words on where we stand with regard to the nuclear issue, including its implications on the TCA since the adoption of the resolution of the International Atomic Energy Agency of 24 September. The meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council of 3 October confirmed that the EU remains firmly united around the European Union E3 Troika approach. This strong sense of EU solidarity around the E3 position forms the platform around which the united international community can rally to strengthen the hand and to support the excellent efforts displayed by the IAEA and its Director-General, Mr Mohammad ElBaradei.
A united EU can also form the bedrock upon which the international community can send a clear message to Iran that, whilst as per Article IV of the Non Proliferation Treaty – NPT – Iran has the inalienable right to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes – and this without discrimination – we need objective guarantees on the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme.
Indeed, the EU considers that the integrity of the NPT must be preserved, and that international cooperation must take place within the strict limits set by the NPT and the Nuclear Suppliers Group guidelines. These principles underpin the framework set up last November in Paris by the European countries. The comprehensive package presented to Iran last August represents a solid pillar on which Iran and the international community can find a common ground for their legitimate concerns.
The Commission has also played its part. Following the resumption of conversion activities at the Isfahan plant two months ago, we decided to put the negotiations we were leading for a trade and cooperation agreement on hold. The Commission strongly hopes that the Iranian leadership will accurately assess what the stakes are and will, as a result, take the necessary steps to reverse the current unhelpful trend, including ensuring full cooperation with international organisations.
The development of the European Union’s relations with Iran is conditioned in large part by progress on that issue and by the approach of the international community. Our relationship with Iran, however, does not begin and end with the nuclear track. Other tracks with Iran should, in the Commission’s view, continue to be pursued.
In this respect, I wish to express my appreciation for the work undertaken by the delegation for relations with Iran, under the dynamic chairwomanship of Ms Angelika Beer. I hope that in the months ahead you will be in a position to develop contacts with your interlocutors from the Iranian Majlis, as well as with the widest possible spectrum of Iranian society.
People-to-people links are the best way to overcome prejudice, negative stereotypes and to foster mutual understanding. It would be, for instance, very important to support the further development of academic, cultural and artistic exchanges between Europe and Iran, two ancient beacons of civilisations which have a lot to offer to each other.
On the official level, I first wish to draw your attention to two tracks: the comprehensive dialogue and the EU-Iran dialogue on human rights.
The comprehensive dialogue is the successor to the critical dialogue. It is a forum designed to allow both sides to discuss a broad range of issues in the economic, political and security fields in a frank and open manner. Since the outset, the emphasis has been placed on our four long-standing issues of concern: weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, the Middle East peace process and human rights. We believe that this dialogue, which has played a useful role in the past, should now be continued. The next session should be held in Tehran. We are waiting for Iran to make practical suggestions.
As for the more specific bilateral dialogue on human rights which we set up in 2002, it provides a structured forum which allows formal discussion on individual cases, as well as on a comprehensive range of human rights issues of concern, on the basis of clear benchmarks. It also comprises a round table involving a wide range of civil society actors, as well as parliamentarians. It remains one of the means through which the EU can make a sustained contribution to fostering systemic change and improving the human rights situation on the ground.
However, the latest session of the human rights dialogue took place more than a year ago. We sought to hold a session in September, but this proved impossible in the absence of any confirmation from the Iranian side. In the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, my colleague Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner told Mr Manouchehr Mottaki, the Iranian Foreign Minister, that it would be important for Iran to reconfirm its commitment to the EU-Iran human rights dialogue by agreeing on a date for an early meeting. We are still waiting for Iran’s response.
Regarding the current human rights situation in Iran, there is a growing cause for concern, as exemplified by the continued imprisonment of Mr Akbar Ganji – as Mr Alexander mentioned – and his supporter and lawyer, Mr Abdolfattah Soltani. There are other serious issues of concern which have emerged recently: the juvenile death penalty cases despite the existence of a moratorium on this penalty; the arrest of members of the Baha’i faith; the excessive use of force to suppress unrest in the provinces of Khuzestan and Kurdistan; and the continued suppressions of freedom of the press. Each is a matter of deep concern."@en1
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