Several rounds of negotiations were held in Vienna with the aim of reviving the Iran nuclear deal signed in 2015.
On the British newspaper tour, an article in the Financial Times by Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign affairs representative, discussed proposals to return to the nuclear deal with Iran, and a report in the “Times” newspaper dealt with the European response to the cut-off of Russian gas supplies.
We start with the Financial Times and an article by Joseph Borrell, the European Union’s foreign affairs representative, entitled “Now is the time to save the Iran nuclear deal.”
The author recalled the conclusion of the agreement seven years ago between Iran, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, describing it as a “historic diplomatic agreement”.
He said the joint plan was the result of years of intense diplomatic efforts over Iran’s nuclear program. The agreement “limited Iran’s nuclear activities” and guaranteed the International Atomic Energy Agency’s monitoring and inspection movement.
He added that the procedures for the full implementation of the agreement were severely affected by the decision of former President Donald Trump to withdraw from the agreement in 2018.
Borrell added that “Iran’s response has been to escalate its nuclear activities and that Trump’s decision has also led to the curtailment of monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency.”
He pointed out that the Iranian people have been affected by the failure to completely lift the sanctions.
He noted that, as the JCPOA coordinator, he launched a new diplomatic process in April 2021, taking advantage of the change in the US administration.
“I have now put a text on the table that addresses in fine detail the lifting of sanctions as well as the core steps needed to restore the JCPOA,” Borrell said.
He noted that the European Union discussed its concerns with Iran that “go beyond the nuclear issue, such as human rights and Iran’s regional activities”.
He emphasized that the agreement on the table “reflects the determination of all participants in the JCPOA to ensure its sustainability, including the commitment of President Joe Biden and the American assurance in this regard.”
He concluded: “If the deal is rejected, we risk a serious nuclear crisis, facing the potential for further isolation of Iran and its people. It is our shared responsibility to seal the deal.”
photo released, Reuters
European Solidarity – After disagreements – in Confront Russian gas cuts
The newspaper “The Times” dealt with the decision of what it described as a “strong block” within the European Union, to reduce gas consumption, to protect Germany and other countries from the consequences of the Russians cutting off gas supplies.
The Russian company Gazprom announced the decision to reduce gas supplies to Germany and other European countries to a fifth of its volume.
She noted that European energy ministers signed off on measures to cut gas consumption by up to 15 percent between August and March, after “a week of internal wrangling over the solidarity package,” according to the paper.
She pointed out that the new legislation obliges countries to take voluntary steps to reduce gas consumption. If rationalization fails, it leads to mandatory measures across the 27-nation bloc.
The “Times” quoted the energy minister of the Czech Republic as saying: “Winter is coming and we don’t know how cold the weather will be.” “But what we do know for sure is that Putin will continue his dirty games through the abuse and extortion of gas supplies,” he added.
The newspaper reported that a group of countries from the European Union last week opposed a proposal by the European Commission, for a binding reduction of gas by 15 percent, if Russia stops the supply.
She said the opposition minority included Poland, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Malta, Cyprus and France. Hungary, which recently signed up to new Russian gas supplies, refused to support the measures by abstaining.
The newspaper pointed out that many of the bloc countries are not dependent on Russian gas and have a full supply. Or reject the idea of facing an economic shock due to Germany’s dependence on Russia.
The newspaper said that the European Commission, after days of negotiations, failed to announce a “unified warning” to reduce gas consumption.
She stated that the countries of Germany, Denmark, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, which depend on the “Nord Stream 1” gas pipeline, expressed their anger at the lack of solidarity on the part of some countries.
But the president of the European Commission defended the compromise agreed, stressing that the collective commitment to voluntarily reduce consumption by 15 percent was “very important and will help fill our stocks before winter”. According to the newspaper.
She pointed out that before the invasion of Ukraine, more than half of Germany’s needs (55 percent) were from Russian gas. And that a quarter of the amount of gas the country now consumes is imported from Russia.