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A statement issued by the European Commission as the executive arm of EU, said this measure taken today was in pursuant of informal meeting of the leaders and Heads of States or Governments of EU Member States in Sofia and the May 18 statement released by the European Commission.
Following the green light of EU leaders at the informal meeting in Sofia, the European Commission has today taken steps to preserve the interests of European companies investing in Iran and demonstrate the EU's commitment to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – the Iran nuclear deal.
The EU launched the formal process to activate the Blocking Statute by updating the list of US sanctions on Iran falling within its scope. The Blocking Statute forbids EU persons from complying with US extraterritorial sanctions*, allows companies to recover damages arising from such sanctions from the person causing them, and nullifies the effect in the EU of any foreign court judgments based on them. The aim is to have the measure in force before 6 August 2018, when the first batch of US sanctions take effect.
On 8 May, President Donald Trump decided to withdraw the US from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and to reinstate all sanctions that had been previously imposed on Iran and had been lifted or waived as a result of this Agreement. The re-imposed US sanctions will come into effect after a “wind-down” period of 90 days (by 6 August 2018) for certain sanctions and 180 days (by 4 November 2018) for others.
As confidence building measures, the Commission will continue and strengthen the ongoing sectoral cooperation with, and assistance to, Iran, including in the energy sector and with regard to small and medium-sized companies.
The Commission is encouraging Member States to explore the possibility of one-off bank transfers to the Central Bank of Iran. This approach could help the Iranian authorities to receive their oil-related revenues, particularly in case of US sanctions which could target EU entities active in oil transactions with Iran.
The European Parliament and the Council will have a period of two months to object to these measures, once proposed, before they enter into force. This period can be shorter if both Institutions signal their non-objection before the end of the period. The processes can be ended if political circumstances no longer justify the adoption of the measures.
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