European Parliament
Tarja Cronberg,
on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group.
Mr President, the Green Group expresses its great concerns at the tense situation in the Gulf region and supports the new EU sanctions against Iran. Many of us, however, are also very concerned at the possible negative effects on the Iranian population. Parliament’s opinion has always been that there cannot be a military solution to a nuclear conflict with Iran. We should not leave any ambiguity about this question and the Greens have proposed an amendment to this effect.
The EU has a dual-track approach to sanctions and negotiations. Sanctions have been enforced. Now it is time for negotiations. The question is: how can we open up for negotiations? The Iranians have said they are willing, and I think one of the things the EU has to accept is that the Iranians will not suspend all uranium enrichment as a precondition for sanctions. We strongly urge all parties to negotiate seriously and without preconditions.
Iran and the West have taken turns in rejecting each other’s offers for compromise, and several opportunities have been missed because the phases of goodwill between E3+3 and Iran were not synchronised. I hope this will not be the case in the future. We would also like to see Turkey and Brazil involved in the negotiations. They were proposing compromises in this respect and would be good partners to have included. If we manage to continue negotiations, this could then open a new historical window to the nuclear-weapon-free Middle East. The EU should support actively this UN conference and be helpful in setting a road map for this process.
The Greens think that the EU should also set a good example and give up nuclear energy, as Germany has decided. The example of Iran clearly shows there is no way to clearly separate nuclear activities for civilian uses and the use of the same technologies for military aims.
As a goodwill gesture showing the EU’s readiness for dialogue, we should finally open an EU representation in Tehran and Iran should receive security guarantees, as it is very difficult to bring a country to the negotiating table under a permanent threat of war.

