Debates

Miércoles 9 de septiembre de 2015 - Estrasburgo

14. Acuerdo nuclear con Irán (debate)

  Presidente. – L'ordine del giorno reca la discussione sulla dichiarazione del Vicepresidente della Commissione/Alto rappresentante dell'Unione per gli affari esteri e la politica di sicurezza sull'accordo con l'Iran sul nucleare.

  Federica Mogherini, Vicepresidente della Commissione. – Grazie Presidente, mi piacciono queste giornate, dalla mattina alla sera in Parlamento, mi mancavano dall'Italia!

Mr President, let me first of all say that I am very glad we are finally taking one of the most important points. I was surprised, I was looking back at my presence in the Parliament – you know I am coming often – but this is the first time we discuss Iran. I am glad to do so after we reached the agreement and also after a visit of a delegation from our Parliament to Tehran.

Let me start by saying that it was an honour for me to represent the European Union in the negotiations and in the signing of the deal we reached on 14 July in Vienna with Iran. As many have said the moment was really an historic one. We should all be proud of what we have achieved, also because we have achieved that together, showing unity, unity of purpose, unity of method and we did this while we were negotiating at the signing and also in the follow up, this first months of the follow-up, of the agreement. The deal has put an end to years of negotiations aimed at securing a comprehensive long lasting solution to the Iranian nuclear issue and it has also put an end to decades of tensions and distrust.

What we achieved in Vienna is a victory of diplomacy, of multilateralism and, I think in this respect, is also a victory of the European Union. And it is a good deal the one that we reached. First of all we would have not accepted a deal that was not good. It is a strong, durable and verifiable deal because we know very well trust is important but agreements of this nature are not and cannot be built on trust, they are built on things that are verifiable, and written in all details in the agreement. It took so much time, it took so much energy also because we wanted the agreement itself, the text and the annexes themselves to be as detailed as possible in order not to leave space for interpretation or disputes in the implementation phase and in the follow-up.

I said it is not based on trust but it is an agreement that while it starts to be implemented can open the way to build trust and this is the bet we are doing, that implementing the deal will also help building trust, trust within the region and within the international community, I would come to that at the end, but also trust as I said and confidence in something very rare and something very precious, which is again the fact that diplomacy, multilateralism, negotiations can lead to results. In fact we prevented probably, most probably, we prevented a crisis or a major conflict through our action.

So that is why I was so proud that the European Union was able to facilitate and to lead to a positive result in this negotiation. Indeed it was also important, it is also important because it is hard, very hard, to think not only in the recent years, but especially now with the security situation we have all around the European Union and in the globe. Difficult to imagine any other moment in history when all the world powers be them Europeans, US, Russia, China, acted in such close cooperation in addressing a common challenge, recognizing a common interest of the international community and being able to act together.

The European Union, as you know, played a crucial role. First of all as a facilitator of the talks but also, and let me praise our staff, our excellent people for that, as a pen holder of the agreement and of all the technical annexes to that. Sometimes we refer to the European bureaucrats, well it is thanks to our people, experienced, very knowledgeable about even tiny technical details of nuclear programmes, if we were able, as Europeans, as European Union, to indeed write concretely all the details of the annexes. I was proud of my team, I was proud of our European team.

(Applause)

Yes you can clap because they deserve that, they deserve that and indeed thank you because I am very happy and it is nice when my personal role is recognised but I always say this was a team work, not only with our partners in the international community, this was also a team work of our staff, and really our people did an excellent job, staying in the same sometimes closed rooms for months, months literally, working on papers, days and nights. So thank you for thanking them with me, they really deserve it.

Now we come to the critical phase. We will keep, I will keep personally, a crucial role for the phase of the implementation as I would stay as a coordinator of the Joint Commission overseeing the implementation of the GCBOA. Implementing the agreement effectively is critical. The UN Security Council endorsed the agreement as you know on 20 July through resolution 2231 and this very same day, in the Foreign Affairs Council, we had a unanimous endorsement by the Foreign Affairs Ministers. We started as the European Union preparations for our own legal measures necessary for lifting the sanctions and we look forward to a positive conclusion of the parliamentary reviews. As Iran will start implementing its nuclear commitments after the reviews will be finished, EU, UN and US economic and financial sanctions will be lifted upon verification of the IAA, and let me also say that our cooperation with the IAA was excellent and also was a way of strengthening, which is something, sometimes we say, but it is difficult then to do, to empower an important agency to do their work, and cooperation in that respect was really excellent. Very importantly going back to sanctions, sanctions lifting will be subject to snap back in case of violation of the agreements. So far I have to say we have very encouraging signs. Iran has complied with the road map agreed with the IAA and has submitted the requested information regarding the outstanding issues we had.

Now we need to keep in mind that the current process remains very sensitive. We will keep focusing on the implementation of the agreement and this is something not only that I underline, but this is the main reason for my visit in Tehran, just 14 days after the deal was signed. I stressed in the Tehran meeting with the President Rouhani, with Foreign Minister Zarif, we were missing each other after having spent so much time together in Vienna all of us, but also with the president of the parliament that I know has kept a very positive and constructive memory of her visit there. I stress that the successful and speedy implementation of the deal is key. The deal is signed but it enters into the real elements, into the real force, once we start and especially once Iran starts implementing it. Implementation phase will be key because it is the key to open the doors towards a renewed engagement between the European Union, its institutions, and its Member States and Iran. That is very clear to me that the majority of the work of re-engaging, restarting bilateral relations will be with the European Union. Out of all the partners sitting around the table we are clearly the ones that for history, for geography, for economy, for interest in the common region we share which is the Middle East, have a clear agenda of interest of exploring ways of working with Iran, as difficult as it can be also on the way ahead. During my visit, we also identified with the Iranian authorities areas of common interest, on which a possible cooperation can start in the months to come in parallel with implementation.

Trade, energy, environment, technology, aviation safety but also terrorism and regional issues, and obviously human rights, we agreed the following steps. First we will start an informal political dialogue, starting from senior official level to further explore areas of potential cooperation and elaborate possible details. Second, we will look into the possibility of a European Union presence in Tehran once the agreement has come into effect. This process requires all European Union institutions to work in a coherent way. For these reasons I have created a common joint Iran task force bringing together services from the Commission and DS (???) that will serve, that has started already to work, to serve as the interface one to ensure the necessary level of coordination in the European Union site. But as we discussed also this morning and also with the President of the Commission, the agreement opens some new opportunities for a different, more cooperative regional framework, and I believe this is really what is going to be more relevant for us. It can open the way to a new way of addressing the crisis in Syria, first of all in Syria. And let me also say that I will discuss also this possible developments tomorrow with Zafandemistura (???) in Brussels, but also in Yemen and in Iraq and in Lebanon, and so on.

Maybe this could be a way of allowing us to bring different parties together with a different perspective. The perspective that managed to bring a result to the negotiations on the nuclear programme of Iran, which is the win-win approach. Different parties around the table brought together by either a common interest or a common threat they have to face together and many of you referred to the need to face together joining forces the threat of Daesh in a more coherent way.

Well, I believe that if we managed to start implementation of the deal, to start developing new relations based not from today to tomorrow, it will take time, but based on some degree of mutual interests and mutual trust, we could also find more effective ways of facing the challenges we have in the region.

This will not happen overnight. That is clear, but let me say that's the issue of building a more cooperative framework in the region, in the Middle East, is the interest of all. A more cooperative Middle East would mean first of all an increased dialogue between Sunni and Shia forces and this would be the real nightmare for Daesh - uniting forces on the ground, uniting forces of differences, and obviously facing their messages of sectarianism and hate that can only grow, flourish on divisions. At the same time let me stress and finish with that because I believe it is important in itself for us Europeans, the deal with Iran it is important for all these different political reasons I am stressing but it is first of all important because it is a milestone for regional and global non-proliferation. It is first of all a non-proliferation agreement. It is first of all a security agreement. We have been focusing very much on the political meaning of it but the concrete outcome, first outcome of the agreement, is a security and a non-proliferation one. It can strengthen and it strengthens the non-proliferation treaty and could create momentum towards a full ratification of the nuclear test ban treaty.

The deal reached in Vienna can also promote disarmament globally and it can foster progress towards the Middle East weapons of mass destruction free zone that as you know, has always been very much supported by all of us in the European Union institutions and Member States from the very beginning. It is obviously a very ambitious goal, but the non-proliferation and disarmament agenda when it comes to the nuclear weapons is an agenda on which I know I find in this Parliament a partner on which I can count and as much as you can count on my personal commitment to that.

So to sum up, because we are late, as usual, let me say that I was proud of representing the European Union there because I believe that that was really the way of serving our face our best face of international engagement, which is that of serving peace and stability and let me say that thanks to the efforts of many, of many, we served the EU interests and the interests of the global community at the same time and we showed, I believe, the European Union at its best.

(Applause)

  Cristian Dan Preda, au nom du groupe PPE. – Monsieur le Président, Madame la Haute représentante, je voudrais commencer par saluer l'accord du 14 juillet sur la question du nucléaire iranien et vous féliciter personnellement pour votre engagement dans la facilitation de cet accord.

Après plus d'une décennie de tractations, l'accord auquel sont arrivés les partenaires et l'Iran offre enfin un espoir d'apporter une solution durable à cette question et de remplacer pour de bon la confrontation et la méfiance par la coopération. Mais pour ce faire, nous ne pouvons pas nous reposer sur nos lauriers.

L'accord vise à couper les voies d'accès de l'Iran aux matériaux fissiles nécessaires pour l'arme nucléaire et prévoit un système d'inspection et de transparence nécessaire pour vérifier l'application de l'accord. L'essentiel réside, comme vous l'avez souligné, dans la mise en œuvre.

La levée des sanctions économiques et financières à l'égard de l'Iran ne sera possible que si l'Agence internationale de l'énergie atomique constate l'application des engagements pris dans le plan d'action global conjoint. J'ajouterai que la mise en œuvre est aussi un défi pour notre diplomatie européenne, pour la diplomatie que vous dirigez, compte tenu du rôle reconnu de l'Union européenne dans cet accord et je suis content que vous l'ayez rappelé et souligné au cours de notre rencontre aujourd'hui.

En même temps, il faut commencer, je crois, à regarder au-delà de cet accord et voir comment nous pouvons avancer sur d'autres points contentieux qui marquent encore notre relation avec l'Iran. Tout d'abord, au sein même du pays, je rappelle que le président Rohani a aussi fait un certain nombre de promesses sur la situation des droits de l'homme dans ce pays et il serait peut-être bon de le rappeler.

Enfin, il faut voir cet accord dans l'optique plus large de notre objectif de recherche de la paix et de la stabilité au Moyen-Orient. Je voudrais exprimer ici l'espoir que l'accord sur le nucléaire iranien produira aussi des effets, en tout premier lieu, sur la crise iranienne, mais aussi sur le Yémen demain, et que nous aurons une vraie coopération à la suite de cet accord historique.

  Richard Howitt, on behalf of the S&D Group. – Mr President, no one wants self-congratulation when the challenges we face are so serious, but the Iranian nuclear deal was a notable European achievement – personally for the High Representative, for her predecessor and for their team.

In the last week, some would think that the only importance was the reaction inside the US Congress, but today’s debate demonstrates European support for a European deal. We should not be deflected in developing our own European strategy to follow up its implementation. Europe expects Iran to keep its promises, but we have to show we will be a reliable partner in keeping our own promises in return.

We have heard from the High Representative about the setting-up of the interinstitutional task force and I would like to ask her about the Parliament’s role in that task force in helping bring forward a new era of cooperation ranging from energy to education to the environment, as she outlines.

We endorsed the proposal for the opening of an EU delegation in Tehran. But Europe is not, and will not, be uncritical. Europe’s response can and must strengthen reformists within Iran. We will criticise the death penalty, but when 80% of the executions are drug-related – and the Iranians told us themselves that their policies in combating drugs are failing – surely EU cooperation in the fight against drugs can have some real influence.

Similarly, we have a difficult but essential job to engage Iran in the fight against ISIS and in resolving the conflicts within the region, thus dealing with the causes of today’s migrant crisis, not just its symptoms. But today America is talking to the Russians and the Russians are talking to the Iranians. We need to talk about how we can engage Iran in the cause of peace.

Finally, recognising the important statement of the Saudi foreign minister expressing satisfaction with the assurances about the deal, the wariness the Israelis have expressed to me is this: that this is a deal for 15 years, but, they ask, what about 15 years and one day? We can find an answer. In Europe’s cooperation with Iran we can seek development, which means there will be no going back. We did a nuclear deal. We now have to make sure it is a deal for development, a deal for modernity, a deal for peace.

(The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question under Rule 162(8))

  Jiří Pospíšil (PPE), otázka položená zvednutím modré karty. – Mám dotaz na pana kolegu. Souhlasím s tím, co říkal, přesto mě zajímá, zda nepovažuje za problém v dané dohodě to, že Íránu je dána lhůta dvaceti čtyři dní na to, aby se připravil, než případně proběhne inspekce jeho jaderných zařízení ze strany inspekce OSN, případně mezinárodní agentury pro atomovou energii. Není zde nebezpečí, že Írán bude mít prostor skrýt případně to, že tu dohodu porušuje? Prosím o Váš názor, pane kolego.

  Richard Howitt (S&D), blue-card answer. – I was part of the European delegation with Christian and the other colleagues that went to Tehran, and we were very careful not to second-guess the very detailed negotiations that Ms Mogherini and her team undertook in Vienna. I do not intend to do so today. Are there risks in any agreement? Of course there are risks, but the risks of a covert nuclear programme in Iran, where people were talking about bombing it as the way of stopping it, were far greater. To have this nuclear agreement is something that we should be celebrating, and I believe you and I probably ultimately agree about that.

  Charles Tannock, on behalf of the ECR Group. – Mr President, despite warnings from critics, it is right to welcome the P5+1 diplomatic breakthrough in concluding a nuclear deal with Iran, and I extend my congratulations to High Representative Mogherini. The alternatives – military, in particular – were unrealistic and had the potential to cause further fall-out in an already destabilised region.

We should not allow a new-found cooperation with Iran, however, to blind us from past experience. The regime in Iran is no stranger to being economical with the truth, and it will be the enforcement and verification measures of the deal that will judge it to have been a success or failure.

Ensuring that Iran complies with the terms agreed and being prepared to swiftly reimpose EU economic sanctions are absolutely crucial. The deal should also not deter the EU and its Member States from criticising Iran where necessary. Its continued human rights abuses and sponsorship of terrorism have not been tamed by the so-called moderate President Rouhani. Under his leadership, the number of executions, including of political dissenters and minorities, has soared, with the average now standing at around two per day. We in my Group rightly and readily condemn the barbarity of ISIS, but the Iranian regime – ISIS’ mortal enemy – is only marginally better. Furthermore, we cannot ignore Iran’s funding of groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah and its continued stoking of sectarian power plays in Lebanon, Syria and Bahrain.

The migrant crisis has illustrated to us that Europe cannot exist in isolation in a globalised world. It is difficult to shield ourselves in Europe from the events and problems of the Middle East, but we must not let this deal allow Iran to cause us further mischief. The UK – my country – has just reopened its embassy in Tehran, so it is probably now time for a small EU delegation there too.

  Marietje Schaake, on behalf of the ALDE Group. – Mr President, in these challenging times, which expose our divisions and lack of position on the global stage, we must underline that when the EU leads, and when we are united, we see results. My compliments go to you, High Representative, your predecessors Javier Solana and Catherine Ashton, and your teams. I enjoyed seeing pictures of the almost all-female crew, but mostly the results that were reached behind closed doors. They must have inspired many women in Iran, too, who need room for participation in society and politics. Certainly the ambitious, smart, Iranian young generation inspires me.

Now we must see to it that all sides stick to their commitments and implement their part of the deal. This is only the beginning. I think we have no time to lose in developing a broader EU agenda in relation to Iran, and human rights should be top of that agenda. For too long, quite frankly, they have been overshadowed by these – albeit important – negotiations. Executions; torture (which is systematic); censorship of the media, the internet, academia and art; repression of minorities; no fair trial, and lawyers like the brave Sakharov Prize winner Nasrin Sotoudeh, who are banned from practising law and have faced imprisonment. The Iranian people deserve better. Also, economically the risk is that the deal and the lifting of sanctions will only strengthen the already very strong position of a few: the Revolutionary Guards and those close to the people in power. But Iran needs a truly private sector, and I think we have work to do to make sure that EU companies do not blindly take the opportunities in the economic openings they see but are actually aware of the full picture.

We must engage Iran in the explosive regional situation and talk to them in a diplomatic effort to end their support for the murderous regime of Bashar al-Assad, which continues to bomb its people, and to stop supporting terrorist organisations like Hezbollah. Our agenda is long, and we should start today.

  Cornelia Ernst, im Namen der GUE/NGL-Fraktion. – Herr Präsident! Wir als Linke der vereinigten Linksfraktion unterstützen nachhaltig den Abschluss des Abkommens mit dem Iran, und wir danken dafür allen Beteiligten, auch Ihnen, Frau Mogherini. Vielleicht ist es das wichtigste Abkommen, das wir in den letzten Jahren überhaupt abgeschlossen haben. Auch weil es beweist, dass ein beharrliches Verhandeln tatsächlich lohnt, dass es lohnt, lieber noch einmal mehr miteinander zu sprechen, und dass Eskalation, Krieg, Sanktionen eben wirklich keine Lösung sind – schon gar nicht von Dauer. Und wir brauchen, das muss man auch klar sagen, einen atomwaffenfreien Iran, ja, natürlich. Aber wir brauchen auch eine atomwaffenfreie Zone im gesamten Nahen und Mittleren Osten.

Das muss auch ein wichtiges Ziel sein, und ich glaube auch, dass insbesondere Israel davon erheblich profitieren könnte. Ein Letztes: Mit diesem Abkommen beginnt auch ein neuer Abschnitt in den Beziehungen zwischen dem Iran und dem Westen. Und dazu gilt es auch sofort, den Menschenrechtsdialog zu beginnen. Das haben wir all den Opfern im Iran, die getötet wurden oder die auch heute noch unter dem Regime leiden, in die Hand versprochen, und ich denke, hier müssen wir anfangen, das muss oben auf der Agenda stehen, und dafür sollten wir uns jetzt stark machen.

  Alyn Smith, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Mr President, a clear majority of the people of Scotland are very strongly in favour of the abolition of nuclear weapons – nuclear disarmament – so it is all the more of a democratic outrage that Scotland hosts the entire UK nuclear arsenal. But that is a discussion for another day; it is a shame Mr Tannock has left us.

On their behalf, I very strongly welcome this deal as an important step forward globally –as our High Representative rightly says – of an example towards nuclear non—proliferation. So we very much endorse the praise and recognition that Ms Mogherini, her team and indeed her predecessors do rightly deserve. Yes, the stars had to align in a wider context, but this was the EU acting as the EU for perhaps the first time, where we played a significant central role that nobody else could have done in bringing this deal home. I think that does deserve the recognition that we have heard tonight.

We had a pressing need to bring Iran in from the cold. The cold war between Saudi Arabia and Iran is right now having grave consequences in the region. In Yemen, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere, we are seeing interference by both countries in the internal affairs of their neighbours. The global community had to find a way to reboot our relationship with Iran, a country that could, and should, be a strong ally. I do not think it is fanciful to think of Iran in those terms in a number of areas.

So what does the future look like, now that we can think about a new relationship? I would strongly endorse Ms Schaake’s comments, and again the EU can play a role in this. We have a lot of experience in bringing mistrusting parties together. High Representative, what thought has been put into confidence-building measures across the Arabian, or indeed the Persian Gulf between the Gulf States and Iran, where a deep mistrust has been allowed to develop? Also, on human rights, Iran’s record – as we rightly say tonight – is poor. That is not unique within the region, of course, but this House in March 2014 called for an EU—Iran human rights dialogue. Can you assure us that that remains a central plank of our engagement? On trade, where we really do have muscle and leverage, after years of sanctions the EU trade diplomacy surely gives us real leverage over Iran and that dialogue. Is it too early to talk of an EU-Iran trade deal? If it is, perhaps we can start thinking in that direction to encourage them into that dialogue.

  Fabio Massimo Castaldo, a nome del gruppo EFDD. – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, ci sono accordi che entrano negli annali della storia e altri che invece fanno la storia. Io spero che il tempo ci dirà che quest'accordo entra nella seconda categoria. Desidero ringraziare sinceramente l'Alto rappresentante Federica Mogherini e tutto lo staff del Servizio europeo per l'azione esterna per il grande ruolo ricoperto nelle negoziazioni. Purtroppo, lo dobbiamo dire, l'obiettivo finale della piena attuazione è ancora lontano, ma lo valuteremo appunto con il tempo.

Il reinserimento di Teheran nella comunità internazionale può mettere in crisi le posizioni, talvolta troppo forti, di Riad eTel Aviv e la loro sicurezza nel considerarsi sostenute, a prescindere, dall'Occidente anche a prescindere appunto dalle azioni concrete. Auguriamoci che entrambi, ma soprattutto l'Iran stesso, possano moderare nel tempo il loro ruolo nei conflitti per procura della regione e che Israele quindi venga spinto dall'accordo stesso a rimettersi seriamente al tavolo negoziale per una soluzione a due Stati, equa e duratura.

Non dobbiamo illuderci sul cambiamento di politica effettivo iraniano, sappiamo bene che c'è tantissimo da fare sul tema dei diritti umani e abbiamo delle aree di politiche di collaborazione –come lei diceva prima – che ci presentano ampi margini di crescita. Ma io credo che l'Iran abbia la volontà di rispettare globalmente questo patto, potrebbe avere una crescita del 5% in dodici mesi e del 7% negli ulteriori 18 mesi.

Noi dobbiamo avere però la volontà di far comprendere agli Stati Uniti che il principio pacta sunt servanda non può essere sconfessato per fini elettorali. Mantenere la parola è fondamentale per sostenere i riformisti iraniani e per evitare appunto una nuova divisione nel mondo a blocchi con il triangolo, Russia, Cina, Iran, da un lato, e USA, UE e alleati, dall'altro, abbiamo anche la possibilità di ricucire insieme il Medio Oriente, con il contributo di tutti, è un obiettivo che – permettetemi di dirlo – storicamente non possiamo fallire.

  Mario Borghezio, a nome del gruppo ENF. – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, sembrerebbe un accordo raggiunto soprattutto nell'interesse dell'Europa. Io vorrei spostare un attimino l'angolo visuale: forse era soprattutto nell'interesse dell'attuale amministrazione di Washington raggiungere questo accordo, visti i risultati dell'offensiva militare in Siria e in Iraq, che non hanno raggiunto i risultati previsti, perché persino centri nel cuore dell'area Isis, come Mosul e Ramadi, sono ancora nelle mani dei guerrieri di Allah e lo saranno ancora a lungo, specialmente se continueremo a non adottare la politica che coinvolga anche la Russia nell'offensiva contro lo Stato islamico.

Nella visione di Washington, l'accordo dovrebbe cambiare completamente il quadro geopolitico dell'area, realizzando un equilibrio fra le quattro potenze regionali, Iran, Turchia, Arabia Saudita e Israele. Per adesso, c'è una situazione che potrebbe – nella visione americana – consentire uno sganciamento da impegni militari. Per adesso! Quando l'Alto rappresentante – di cui condivido l'ottimismo della volontà pur pensando personalmente con il pessimismo della modesta mia intelligenza – vedo soprattutto vantaggi immediati per le industrie, per esempio per le industrie degli armamenti americani – perché Arabia Saudita e Israele protestano ma si sono affrettate a fare grossi acquisti presso i produttori americani.

Mi rimangono due domande: l'Iran, da un lato, darà questo prezioso aiuto all'equilibrio della regione e rispetterà a lungo gli impegni sul nucleare? Secondo, quest'accordo produrrà veramente vantaggi per l'Unione europea, che tanto si è spesa in questo senso e per i suoi interessi nell'area?

  Francisco José Millán Mon (PPE). – Señor Presidente, yo también quiero unir mi voz en favor del acuerdo alcanzado con Irán y felicitarla, señora Mogherini, por la labor realizada siguiendo los pasos de sus predecesores, la señora Ashton y el señor Solana.

El Acuerdo asegurará el carácter civil del programa nuclear iraní a través de una serie de importantes limitaciones y restricciones que el Gobierno de Irán ha aceptado y cuyo cumplimiento será vigilado estrechamente por la Agencia Internacional de la Energía Atómica. A mí me parece que el respaldo unánime del Consejo de Seguridad ―como usted ha dicho― a la Resolución 2231 es una muestra de la acogida positiva que prácticamente toda la comunidad internacional ha otorgado al Acuerdo de Viena.

Ahora se abre una larga y difícil etapa: la de verificación del cumplimiento de las condiciones. Esta dimensión de verificación constituye, desde luego, la garantía esencial del Acuerdo.

Pero yo creo que el alcance del Acuerdo va más allá de su importantísima dimensión de seguridad. Por un lado, mediante el levantamiento de las sanciones y medidas restrictivas, va a permitir la progresiva normalización de relaciones con Irán ―también en el plano económico y comercial, con el efecto de que eso es positivo para todos, incluida la población iraní― y, de otro, también conducirá a una normalización de las relaciones políticas. Con ello espero que surja un nuevo clima de cooperación de Irán con la comunidad internacional que me gustaría que tuviera un impacto positivo en la región.

Todos conocemos las actividades y el papel que Irán viene desempeñando en Oriente Próximo. Ahora, el nuevo clima abierto por el Acuerdo ojalá permita que la actitud iraní sea más constructiva y contribuya a la estabilidad de una región que tanto lo necesita. Ahí tenemos, junto al estancado proceso de paz en Oriente Próximo, la guerra en Siria, en Irak, el terrible auge de Daesh y toda la muerte y sufrimiento y el desplazamiento de millones de personas.

Ojalá que Irán, junto con otros actores clave en la región, contribuya a traer la estabilidad y la seguridad tan necesarias, poniendo fin, encontrando una solución a la guerra en Siria y erradicando también el terror de Daesh.

Y voy a terminar. Cuando el 20 de julio los ministros de Asuntos Exteriores debatieron con usted el Acuerdo de Viena la invitaron a que explorase vías para promover un marco regional más cooperativo. Me pregunto si ya ha avanzado algo en este estudio y qué papel podría jugar o está jugando ya la Unión Europea.

  Victor Boştinaru (S&D). – Mr President, before coming to this debate, I read again the speech made by John Kerry in Philadelphia recently about the nuclear deal. I have one conclusion: if remarkable American scientists, as well as John Kerry, the President and many leading personalities in the United States, are backing the deal, are they wrong? I think not – because this deal is important not only for the United States but for the whole world.

And this is the level at which Europe can and should always play. Please remember for a moment where we started from in 2013 and where we are now in our relations with Iran and its capabilities to build a nuclear bomb. Reading John Kerry’s words, I can say, Madam Vice-President, that you and the other negotiators achieved things we should be proud of. Our Union has already received the Nobel Prize for Peace, and this should be a reason for Europe to become a real global power for peace and cooperation.

Allow me now to say just a few words in Romanian.

Acest acord este un document care vizează în mod particular non-proliferarea nucleară, dar nu se referă numai la aceasta. Deschide posibilitatea unei cooperări între Uniunea Europeană, Iran și alți actori regionali pentru a stabiliza situația în Orientul Mijlociu, inclusiv un exit strategy pentru o tranziție în Siria. Este un document care permite cooperarea pentru a stabiliza o arie mai largă, din Iran până la zona Mării Mediterane. Este un loc unde Europa - și mă uit la Philip Hammond, mă uit la Deputy Chancellor Steinmeier, care merg la Teheran să discute despre acordul nuclear, dar să discute în egală măsură despre business. Mă uit la Daniel Barenboim, care îl acompaniază pe vicecancelar la Teheran, crezând în puterea simbolului muzicii și al multiculturalismului ca un mesaj de pace. Pentru aceste lucruri e timpul ca Iranul și Arabia Saudită să înceteze războiul proxilor și Iranul să-și schimbe în egală măsură limbajul vizavi de Israel, vizavi de Statele Unite.

(Vorbitorul a acceptat să răspundă unei întrebări adresate în urma ridicării cartonaşului albastru, în conformitate cu articolul 162 alineatul (8) din Regulament).

  Hans-Olaf Henkel (ECR), Frage nach dem Verfahren der „blauen Karte“. – Herr Boştinaru, Sie haben ja sehr gute Erklärungen gegeben und Begründungen für dieses Abkommen, aber glauben Sie wirklich, dass die Erklärung, ein amerikanischer Außenminister könne sich nicht irren, eine wirklich gute ist?

  Victor Boştinaru (S&D), blue-card answer. – If we do not trust John Kerry, if we do not trust Steinmeier, if we do not trust High Representative Mogherini, if we do not trust others, then who are the ones to be trusted by us? It is the scepticism, the recipe and the panacea for our question marks. Negotiation is the only answer we need and the only leverage we have. This is why, through negotiations, at least we can prevent the possibility of Iran building a nuclear bomb and then, by means of verification, have a basis to work for a better world. The one we have now is not a better one.

  Bas Belder (ECR). – Mevrouw de Hoge Vertegenwoordiger, er ligt echt een cruciale vraag op mijn lippen na die Iran-deal, hoe je er ook over denkt, of deze slecht is of goed, die ik toch graag aan u geadresseerd zou willen hebben vanavond: hoe staat het met een strikte internationale controle op de naleving van de nucleaire deal door Iran - en dat is het punt - tot op detailniveau. Want ik heb ook gesproken met experts. En dan heb ik nog twee aanvullingen op deze vraag, want daar gaat het echt om.

In het geval van Irak was er nog een internationale commissie van experts die de IAEA ook nog controleerde. Dat zou belangrijk zijn bij Iran, gezien de non-transparantie van Iran in het verleden. Want het is heel controversieel.

Een tweede punt: het gaat toch niet aan dat de IAEA geheime afspraken heeft met Iran. Die moeten echt allemaal openbaar worden gemaakt. Dat gaat zelfs tegen de statuten van de IAEA in. Dat wil ik u vooral meegeven, en vooral de vraag: hoe staat het met de implementatie en de controle, een dubbele controle, gezien het verleden. Dat niet begint, zoals hier gezegd, in 2013. We zijn al meerdere decennia met Iran bezig.

  Gérard Deprez (ALDE). – Monsieur le Président, Madame la Haute représentante, c'est avec conviction que je défends l'accord intervenu avec l'Iran parce que je pense qu'un risque calculé en faveur de la non-prolifération est de loin préférable au risque d'escalade nucléaire et aux risques majeurs qui découleraient d'aventureuses opérations guerrières.

Cela dit, je veux aussi être clair sur un autre enjeu. Cet accord n'est en rien un label d'honorabilité que l'Union européenne et ses États membres attribueraient au régime impitoyable des mollahs. Ce régime qui bâillonne, qui emprisonne, qui exécute, qui pend à tour de bras – si j'ose l'expression –, j'espère que les Iraniens s'en débarrasseront très vite et que nous soutiendrons ceux qui se battent pour l'avènement d'un Iran libre et démocratique.

Madame la Haute représentante, je dois avouer que j'étais un peu gêné par la pitoyable liste des ministres qui se sont transformés en voyageurs de commerce à Téhéran aussitôt l'accord signé. Nous attendons beaucoup plus de vous. Vous êtes le visage et la voix de l'Europe dans le monde. Ils sont nombreux, en Iran et ailleurs, tous ceux qui attendent de vous une action déterminée pour le respect des droits de l'homme, la dignité des personnes et les principes fondamentaux de la démocratie. Vous ne les décevrez pas.

  Rina Ronja Kari (GUE/NGL). – Hr. formand! Først og fremmest tak til fru Mogherini for en rigtig interessant indledning. Jeg har stor forståelse for glæden over atomaftalen med Iran, men jeg må også sige, at der er kommet nogle bekymrende bemærkninger fra EU's side. Når der bliver sagt, at EU og Iran er tætte venner, og at der er gensidig respekt, bliver jeg altså lidt bekymret. Iran har jo store, store problemer med menneskerettighederne. Alene inden for de sidste par år er der blevet udført mere end 2 000 henrettelser – for slet ikke at tale om de hårde straffe, som regimet uddeler til folk, der tillader sig at kritisere det. Dertil kommer diskriminationen af kvinder generelt i samfundet. Det er ikke noget, vi bare kan ignorere. Tværtimod er det et område, som vi må sætte meget mere fokus på, og hvor det også er af afgørende betydning, at EU's repræsentanter altid bringer det op og kritiserer det. Når der holdes store pressemøder, hvor de mange brud på menneskerettighederne slet ikke nævnes, så sender det et dårligt signal. Selv her midt i glæden må vi altså huske alle de mennesker, der i dag lider under det iranske regime.

Til sidst vil jeg sige tusind tak for indsatsen og også tak for redegørelsen.

  James Carver (EFDD). – blue-card answer. – This agreement has given the European Union a chance to see itself as the arbitrator of European security and prosperity. However, in negotiating this very deal, you may well have achieved the complete opposite, due to the wide mistrust over Iran’s stance towards Israel and their influence in both Yemen and Palestine. While President Rouhani may be a moderate, we must remember that, without changes to Iran’s political and governance systems, there is no assurance that a traditionalist or a fundamentalist will not take control in the future, removing the current supreme leader’s fatwa forbidding nuclear weapons.

We should respectfully bear in mind that Ayatollah Khamenei is now 76 years old. The Middle East has enough security challenges as it is, without adding a toxic mix of re—energised nuclear proliferation. Where there are now better positions to develop nuclear weapons, will we see further Middle East nations seek to become nuclear powers? Already, the Saudis have a nuclear agreement with Pakistan that potentially allows them to look towards nuclear weapons. Commissioner, I cannot see how this secures either the Middle East or the rest of the world. With this agreement comes responsibility, and I sincerely hope and pray that Iran uses this opportunity to start in the right direction by reassuring the world of good intentions, not least by removing her support for anti-government forces in the Yemen.

(The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question under Rule 162(8)).

  Ivan Jakovčić (ALDE), pitanje koje je podizanjem plave kartice postavio. – Ono što želim jednostavno pitati, kao česti kritičar Europske unije, slažete li se sa mnom da je ovo veliki uspjeh Europske unije, da je ovo veliki uspjeh Visoke predstavnice, naše zajedničke politike, pretpostavka za stvaranje mira na našoj planeti i mogućnost, neovisno o svemu onome što znamo da se dešava u Iranu, da ipak Iran bude zemlja koja će pridonositi miru na našem planetu? Slažete li se s velikim uspjehom Europske unije i zaslugom za mir na ovom planetu?

  James Carver (EFDD), blue-card answer. – Mr Jakovčić, quite frankly, if you listen to my speech you will hear that what I was saying was that there is a danger of people counting their chickens before they have hatched. One has to look at the wider perspective. As you may well know, I am very interested in the issues surrounding the Yemen civil war, and certainly Iran’s proxy in that area – not least with support for Palestine and with continual negative comments about Israel – leads me to err on the side of caution. I think it is important that this House reflects all views from across the European Union.

  Edouard Ferrand (ENF). – Monsieur le Président, Madame la Haute représentante, mes chers collègues, certes, l'Iran ne doit pas avoir l'arme nucléaire mais, pour une fois, il est temps, ici, de revenir aux réalités et à l'efficacité.

La réalité, c'est de faire que l'Iran puisse redevenir une nation fréquentable dans le concert des nations. Oui, l'accord de Genève a été un bon accord parce qu'il permet justement à l'Iran d'appliquer le traité sur la non-prolifération. Oui, l'Iran pourra avoir accès au nucléaire civil. Oui, l'Iran pourra redevenir fréquentable. Cependant, il faut aussi être efficace, mais comment? En donnant à l'Iran la possibilité de jouer aujourd'hui un rôle majeur dans des conflits, notamment au Moyen-Orient. Comme la Chine et comme la Russie, ce pays doit aujourd'hui nous permettre de mener une lutte efficace, notamment en Syrie, pour justement faire en sorte de mettre à genoux l'État islamique, de manière que l'Iran puisse redevenir le grand partenaire régional dont l'Europe a besoin.

  Tunne Kelam (PPE). – Mr President, Madam Mogherini’s personal contribution and dedication is to be appreciated. However, the overall result of the deal has not been so convincing, because the Iranian nuclear programme has not been cancelled, just postponed, in the best case for 15 years. The result has been buying time. The question is, who is going to use this time more efficiently? It is up to us now to answer. The essence of the Iranian regime has not changed; the same undemocratic leaders have a notorious track record of broken commitments.

As there is no confidence, as Ms Mogherini admitted, the question is: will these leaders benefit from the new situation more than their partners? Asking for more concessions is impossible, because unfrozen assets will provide money for supporting Iranian proxies in the Middle East; the missile programme has been left out of the deal; part of the advanced centrifuges will be retained. But I think the central issue is our clear commitment to human and minority rights situations there. It is a basis of trust and any real progress. What alarms me most is that the human rights situation in the meantime has worsened, not improved. Under President Rouhani, there have been 2 000 executions, many of them for political motives.

The European Parliament’s position has been very clear: in dealing with undemocratic partners, we have insisted that human rights should be mainstreamed in all agreements and be conducted parallel to economic and security deals, and I hope that it will be so.

  Knut Fleckenstein (S&D). – Herr Präsident, meine lieben Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Auch von mir ein Dank an die Hohe Vertreterin, an ihr Team. Da wir nicht allzu oft zu viel Gutes über sie sagen, will ich ausdrücklich Ihre Vorgängerin, Lady Ashton, auch einbeziehen, die in dieser Angelegenheit auch sehr viel getan hat.

Ja! Es ist nur ein Beginn. Ja! Es gibt immer noch viele Probleme. Nein, es gibt keinen Grund zur Naivität. Ja! Es ist vielleicht zu früh, sich zu freuen. Und dennoch: Dieses Agreement macht Hoffnung, Hoffnung auf Entspannung in der Region und zwischen dem Westen und dem Iran. Es macht auch Hoffnung auf eine bessere Zukunft für die Menschen im Iran.

Ich will die Gelegenheit nutzen, auch deutlich zu machen, dass ich sehr hoffe, dass es zu einer Entspannung zwischen dem Iran und Israel führen kann. Sicher bin ich, dass nach genauem Studium diese Einsicht auch in der israelischen Regierung zunehmen wird. Ich will das aber auch mit Deutlichkeit wiederholen, was wir an anderer Stelle schon häufig gesagt haben: Die Sicherheit Israels ist nach wie vor eine Herzensangelegenheit dieses Parlaments, sie steht außer Frage als höchste Priorität für uns fest.

Es ist auch ein Sieg der Diplomatie, und wir haben nicht allzu viele Siege im Rahmen der Diplomatie zu feiern. Insofern ist das auch ein Hoffnungszeichen.

Lassen Sie mich zum Abschluss zweien danken. Der eine ist Außenminister Kerry. Ich muss jetzt ein bisschen schmunzeln über Ihre Frage, sie hätte von mir kommen können, wenn es nicht ein Parteifreund von mir wäre, der das gesagt hat. Aber dass der Außenminister der Vereinigten Staaten trotz erheblichen Widerstands in seinem Land so strikt diese Linie gefahren ist mit uns allen – wir sind ihm, glaube ich, zu Dank verpflichtet. Ich hoffe, unsere Kollegen im Kongress werden ihn nicht ungerechterweise im Regen stehen lassen. Und letztlich will ich mich auch bedanken beim russischen Außenminister – es würde Sie wundern, wenn ich das nicht täte –, bei Minister Lawrow, weil es deutlich macht, dass, wenn wir gemeinsam handeln, wenn wir gemeinsam Probleme anpacken und wenn der ernsthafte Wille da ist, sie auch gemeinsam zu lösen, es eine Chance dafür gibt. Ich hoffe sehr, dass wir im Fall Syrien demnächst ein weiteres Beispiel dafür haben werden.

  David Campbell Bannerman (ECR). – Mr President, as Chairman of the Iraq Delegation, I have been following the talks between the West and Iran with great concern. Just one day after signing this deal, and Iran is shelling our allies in Yemen. While dressed up as a peace deal, this is just appeasement. This agreement trivialises the Iranian regime’s human rights violations. More than 2 000 people have been hanged by the ‘moderate’ President Rouhani whom you, Ms Mogherini, were happy to take tea with. This is the highest level of executions for 25 years, 1 000 forecast by this year end: the highest number of executions per head in the world. The group-think mentality of the EU and P5+1 has resulted in every obstruction from the Iranians, rewarded with more giveaways. Iranian officials have described negotiations as a form of Jihad by other means. This deal frees up millions of euros for yet more sponsorship of terror. They are just laughing at us. Under the agreed framework for 10 years, Iran will never be further than one year from a nuclear weapon, and then it will get the bomb. This deal is utter folly.

(The speaker agreed to take a blue-card question under Rule 162(8)).

  Alyn Smith (Verts/ALE), blue-card question. – I am grateful to you, Mr Campbell Bannerman, for giving way, and I pay tribute to your work on the Iraq delegation where we both work – and it is a pleasure to work with you – but I flatly disagree with your comments tonight. In any deal there is an element of unpalatable compromise, and we had to find a way to bring Iran in from the cold and into the global dialogue. Would you also extend the criticism which you rightly make of the human rights record and the interference in neighbouring countries to Saudi Arabia and indeed to UK Government policy, which is more predicated upon selling as many guns, tanks and bombs to the current regime in Saudia Arabia as possible?

  David Campbell Bannerman (ECR), blue-card answer. – Alyn, thank you for your support for the Iraq delegation. I do not think that this compromise works: I think it gives too much away and endangers peace in the Middle East; it does not actually secure it. I do not like the idea of a nuclear power in Iran, because it could become a suicide bomber state. It could actually use the bomb, and so it is more destabilising. I think it is desperately dangerous and that is why I oppose it. Regarding Saudi Arabia, yes, I do think we need to look at that more closely.

  Urmas Paet (ALDE). – Mr President, I find it positive that the deal has been reached with Iran, and I would also like to thank Mrs Mogherini for her efforts in reaching this deal. Hopefully Iran will use this opportunity of sanctions being lifted for its own good, for boosting its economy and advancing the well-being of its people and will not engage in destabilising the Middle East region. We need to use this time and this agreement as grounds for dealing with other crises in the region where Iran could also be of help.

We need to engage the Gulf countries and Israel in dialogue to try to work on reducing the tensions in the Middle East at large and also fighting terrorism. We need to commend Iran for their actions regarding refugees: they have already taken more than a million refugees from Afghanistan. But we cannot turn a blind eye to the human rights situation in Iran. Many innocent people are still imprisoned in Iran on false charges or are subject to excessive punishments, and this needs to be addressed by EU high officials in relations with Iran.

  Franz Obermayr (ENF). – Herr Präsident! Das Atomabkommen mit dem Iran ist sicherlich ein Meilenstein hin zu der Normalisierung unserer Beziehungen zu Teheran. Der Iran kam so weit entgegen, dass er sich zur jederzeitigen Inspektion seiner gesamten Atominfrastruktur und in begründeten Fällen, sogar der militärischen Anlagen bereit erklärte. Der Iran hat unter Beweis gestellt, dass es dort Kräfte gibt, denen es doch sehr an Deeskalation und Frieden liegt.

Durch die Verhandlungen der letzten Jahre hat sich ein Klima des Vertrauens und des Respekts gebildet, welches es ermöglichen kann, den Iran in eine Stabilisierungsstrategie im Nahen Osten einzubinden, und dabei ist natürlich das Lebensrecht jedes Staates in dieser Region zu garantieren. Wir müssen daher umdenken, nicht nur im Verhältnis zum Iran, sondern auch in unserer Außenpolitik, die sich mehr an unseren eigenen europäischen Interessen orientieren und nicht dauernd den kleinen Bruder Amerikas spielen sollte.

  Josef Weidenholzer (S&D). – Herr Präsident! Ich habe meine erste Rede in diesem Haus im Januar 2012 gehalten, da ging es um den Iran, da ging es um die Sanktionen. Ich habe seinerzeit eine Position dagegen bezogen, dass wir eine militärische Option in unsere Entschließung aufnehmen. Seit dieser Zeit hat sich sehr viel verändert. Es haben jene Recht bekommen, die gesagt haben, man könne durch Gespräch, Dialog, Diplomatie ähnlich der Ostpolitik versuchen, Standpunkte aufzuweichen. Also nicht Abschreckung, sondern Wandel durch Annäherung. Wir haben in diesem Haus auch oft darum gerungen, ob wir als Delegation des Europäischen Parlaments eine Reise in den Iran machen sollten. Wir haben es schließlich dann nach vielem Hin und Her getan.

Ich bin sehr froh, dass diese Atomfrage gelöst wird, denn das war sozusagen der Gordische Knoten. Ich möchte mich bei der Hohen Vertreterin dafür bedanken, dass sie dieses diplomatische Geschick bewiesen hat. Die Tür ist offen, aber es hat noch kein neues Kapitel in den Beziehungen zwischen Europa und dem Iran begonnen. Das ist auch nicht verwunderlich nach 30 Jahren Isolation.

Dieser Prozess ist voller Chancen und voller Risiken. Wir haben heute viel über die Risiken diskutiert, aber es gibt auch Chancen. Es gibt gemeinsame Sicherheitsinteressen in der Region, es gibt das organisierte Verbrechen der Drogenkriminalität, das wir gemeinsam bekämpfen müssen, es gibt ökonomische Chancen, und es gibt vor allem auch Chancen in der Wissenschaftskooperation. Die erste Frau, die einen Nobelpreis in Mathematik verliehen bekam, war eine Iranerin. Also, diese Chancen bestehen.

Ich glaube aber auch, dass wir die Frage der Menschenrechte in aller Offenheit ansprechen müssen, und ich wünsche mir, dass wir es sehr bald erleben werden, dass wir hier in diesem Haus Nasrin Sotoudeh und Jafar Panahi, die beiden Sacharow-Preisträger, persönlich zu ihrem Preis beglückwünschen können. Das wäre auch ein Durchbruch in den weiteren Beziehungen zum Iran.

  Николай Бареков ( ECR). – Г-н Председател, г-жо заместник-председател Могерини, като български евродепутат и представител на делегацията ни за Иран приветствам подписаното ядрено споразумение – голям дипломатически успех и първа стъпка за постигането на траен мир в Близкия изток.

Иран може да бъде наш партньор във войната срещу Ислямска държава. Бежанският поток показва, че са нужни нови усилия и световна коалиция, включваща Иран, Русия, Съединените щати и Европа срещу ислямските терористи в Сирия. Вярвам, че Иран може да бъде наш съюзник при необходимите военни операции и по земя срещу Ислямска държава.

Връщането на Иран в световната дипломация дава възможност на Европейския съюз да реши основния си енергиен проблем за по-голям обем газови доставки извън Русия към Европа. Много европейски държави, в това число и моята държава – България, включително и Гърция, имат пряка полза от възобновяването на проекта „Набуко“ за газопровод от Иран за Европа. Надявам се преговорите за това да започнат незабавно по наша инициатива.

  Maite Pagazaurtundúa Ruiz (ALDE). – Señor Presidente, señora Mogherini, siento un enorme respeto por usted y por su trabajo, pero no tengo experiencia diplomática. Sí, alguna, en el campo de los derechos humanos, y lo cierto es que las cosas humanas más inocentes: bailar, reír, hablar, amar son pecado en Irán y se ejecuta por ello cada día.

La Realpolitik sacrifica nuestra mirada buscando el menor mal posible para la política internacional. Tal vez no hay otra oportunidad, ni otra posibilidad, y seguramente el tiempo le dará la razón. Pero quiero dejar testimonio, con todo respeto, de esa realidad de derechos humanos que hoy tal vez no queremos ver. Porque es muy duro para los iraníes libres de corazón, para los iraníes libres de conciencia, para los activistas, sobreponerse al miedo cada día, estén fuera o dentro de Irán. Nosotros no nos jugamos la vida como ellos, por eso yo le ruego que no olvide los derechos humanos.

  Ana Gomes (S&D). – Senhor Presidente, Alta Representante Mogherini, os meus agradecimentos a si e à sua equipa, porque o acordo nuclear com o Irão é um grande passo para a segurança e para a não proliferação a nível regional e global. Mas é também fundamental para encorajar as autoridades iranianas a assumirem uma nova atitude na região, no mundo e para com o seu próprio povo, nomeadamente no respeito pelos direitos humanos.

Podemos ter muitas divergências, temos, com o Irão, mas estamos diante de um Estado funcional que neste momento da história da região e da humanidade deve ser encorajado a desempenhar um papel prioritário na resolução de conflitos e, designadamente, a pôr fim à guerra na vizinha Síria e a não deixar explodir o Líbano. Para isso, é preciso que a União Europeia trabalhe para acabar com o confronto sectário entre xiitas e sunitas, plasmado na rivalidade Irão-Arábia Saudita, agora acicatado também pelo extremismo facínora do Daesh, que ameaça espalhar o conflito armado a todo o Médio Oriente e ao Norte de África e não só. É a própria Europa que está exposta à barbárie assassina do Daesh se não souber coordenar-se para o combate e para chamar potências regionais como o Irão, a Arábia Saudita e a Turquia à responsabilidade, integrando-as numa solução que dê paz e futuro aos sírios e a todos os povos da região.

  Hans-Olaf Henkel (ECR). – Herr Präsident! Frau Kommissarin Mogherini, Sie haben die Arbeit Ihrer Vorgängerin entschlossen und auch erfolgreich fortgesetzt und abgeschlossen, und dafür gebührt Ihnen in der Tat unser aller Dank. Übrigens – wie Sie zu Recht sagen – auch Ihrer Mannschaft – wie wir von Frau Schaake gehört haben, vor allen Dingen einer weiblichen Mannschaft. Nun wurde ja heute in den Redebeiträgen darauf hingewiesen, dass die Menschenrechte im Iran immer noch mit Füßen getreten werden, allerdings, das muss ich auch sagen, besonders die von Frauen und Mädchen. Bei dieser Gelegenheit sollte man auch darauf hinweisen. Aber ich möchte mal etwas ganz anderes, einen anderen Aspekt hier zur Sprache bringen.

Ein Teil des Abkommens ist ja die graduelle Aufhebung des Wirtschaftsembargos, der wirtschaftlichen Sanktionen. Denen, die das kritisieren, möchte ich heute in Erinnerung rufen, dass mit dem Reisegepäck ausländischer Investoren immer sehr oft – gerade dann, wenn es sich um Reisegepäck in repressive Länder handelt – auch Ideen, Ideale und Werte mit versandt werden. Und das ist die Idee der Marktwirtschaft, die Idee der Menschenrechte und die Idee der Demokratie, und das kann unter Umständen der wertvollste Aspekt Ihres Abkommens sein. Denn genau das kann zu dem Wandel in dieser Gesellschaft führen, den die jungen Leute dort heute erwarten.

Im Übrigen, und das ist mein ceterum censeo, bin ich der Meinung, dass der Einheitseuro abgeschafft werden muss denn er führt zu Zwist und Zwietracht in Europa.

  Ioan Mircea Paşcu (S&D). – Mr President, after prolonged intense and complex negotiations, in which the High Representative and her team played a crucial role for which they deserve all our praise, a deal has been signed in Vienna with Iran. According to the deal, Iran will scale down considerably its nuclear effort and the international community will gradually lift the sanctions. However, the nuclear dimension is not the sole yardstick in evaluating the deal concluded in Vienna.

I think that the real measure of success or failure for that deal is ultimately political: namely, to what extent Iran’s influence in the area will increase or decrease following the regaining of international respectability as a result of signing the Vienna deal. The question is: will Iran be more cooperative or more assertive? And even if it is cooperative, we should be fully aware that other partners in the area might feel antagonised by this newly-discovered cooperative relationship between us and Iran.

  Jan Zahradil (ECR). – Pane předsedající, dovolte, abych vám připomněl, že Írán je teokratickou diktaturou, která tvrdě potírá domácí i exilovou opozici. Že je to první stát na světě v počtu poprav na počet obyvatel, že považovat Írán za spojence v boji proti Islámskému státu je naivní, protože pro ně je Islámský stát pouze konkurent ve snaze o regionální hegemonii. Připomínám, že Írán podporuje Asada v Sýrii, podporuje Hizballáh v Libanonu, rozvrací Irák.

Tuto smlouvu se znepokojením přijala Saudská Arábie, Turecko i Egypt. Samozřejmě především Izrael. A pokud tato smlouva umožní Íránu pokračovat ve svém jaderném programu, roztočí se v regionu takové kolo zbrojení, které jsme tady nezažili od konce studené války.

Já se obávám, že jsme tomu otevřeli dveře. Nejsem vůbec optimista, pokud jde o tuto smlouvu, a musím říct, že vy sama jste k tomu přispěla svojí zbrklou návštěvou Íránu a vstřícností, kterou jste ukázala k tamějšímu režimu. Já to považuji za chybu a já Vám to, paní Mogheriniová, tady z tohoto místa vytýkám.

  Eugen Freund (S&D). – Mr President, let me first join all those who congratulated Mrs Mogherini and Catherine Ashton for their contribution in resolving this difficult issue of the nuclear deal with Iran. I followed the topic as a journalist at the IAEA in Vienna from the beginning of 2002 or 2003, although, of course, it goes back much further than that: the difficulties in bringing all these parties to the table have their roots in the events of 1979 – the revolution in Iran and the mistrust that followed.

Now, with the negotiations over and the passing of the treaty in the US Congress almost assured, we have to look ahead. How can we in Europe use the newfound rapprochement to involve Iran in resolving the many crises in the Middle East? It is my hope that the nuclear deal was just the beginning. I know there are parties in the region which will oppose a stronger role for Iran, but without its inclusion we will move even further away from any resolution.

  Javi López (S&D). – Señor Presidente, ante todo y sobre todo el Acuerdo con Irán es el triunfo de la diplomacia frente a la guerra y la violencia como método de resolución de los conflictos internacionales. Pone fin a 36 años de hostilidad entre Occidente e Irán, y evita que Irán se convierta en una potencia nuclear.

Pero, además, tiene enormes implicaciones regionales. Tiene implicaciones en la zona más devastada del mundo, donde Irán es una potencia regional que tendrá capacidad de influencia ―o puede tenerla―, de estabilización, sobre todo en cuatro guerras civiles que estamos viendo cómo se suceden ―en Irak, lamentablemente en Libia, en Yemen o en Siria― y, además, tiene mucha influencia sobre dos importantes países, como son Palestina o Libia.

Esto solo es el inicio. Es evidente que continuamos manteniendo las mismas críticas en materia de derechos humanos que manteníamos hace pocos meses sobre Irán, pero la diferencia es que este Acuerdo nos va a permitir hablar de estas críticas con ellos, con Irán, a partir de mañana.

  Afzal Khan (S&D). – Mr President, this agreement is a victory for diplomacy over confrontation. Congratulations to Ms Mogherini and her predecessor, Ms Ashton, for successfully concluding the negotiations.

However, we must not rest on our laurels. We must now breathe life into this deal by ensuring its rigorous implementation, and work towards making the entire Middle East nuclear weapon-free. It is important that we further strengthen relations with Iran as a key player within the Middle East. We must use the deal to create stability, which in turn will foster regional economic and development cooperation.

We are seeing the impact of regional instability on our own borders, with hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing in search of a safe land. The Vienna Agreement therefore opens new avenues for constructively engaging with Iran on regional security issues, such as combating Isis, ending the bloody civil war in Syria and stabilising Iraq and Yemen. This agreement gives us hope for long-term sustainable peace in the Middle East.

Interventi su richiesta

  Jaromír Štětina (PPE). – Pane předsedající, dovolte mi pár faktů. Za dobu úřadování takzvaného umírněného íránského premiéra Rúháního bylo oběšeno více než dva tisíce lidí. Podle Amnesty International jen v první polovině letošního roku bylo popraveno sedm set lidí. A očekává se, že jejich počet do konce roku přesáhne tisíc. Je to na světě největší počet poprav na hlavu.

Legální věk pro vstup dívek do manželství je třináct let, ale dívky již od devíti let mohou být provdávány se svolením soudu. A tak dále.

Vážená paní komisařko, žádám Vás z tohoto místa, abyste jako představitelka Evropy při tvorbě íránského nukleárního dealu nezapomínala na lidská práva. Jak naložit s hrozbou íránského nukleárního programu a vlivem tohoto režimu v daném regionu není jednoduchá volba. S naprostou určitostí ale vím, že otázka lidských práv, brutálního nárůstu počtu poprav a potlačování náboženských svobod nesmí být pro Evropskou unii v rozhovorech s íránskou protistranou tabu.

  Nicola Caputo (S&D). – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, dopo circa due anni di negoziati, finalmente è stato trovato un importante accordo con l'Iran sul nucleare. Si tratta di un risultato storico e concordo con la vicepresidente Mogherini nel definirlo un segno di speranza per il mondo intero.

Ora l'attenzione deve essere tutta rivolta alla fase di gestione dell'accordo, tenendo presente che il risultato raggiunto, per quanto importante, non porta a un disarmo definitivo, trattandosi di un testo per il controllo della proliferazione che vincola Teheran a non produrre materiale sufficiente per la costruzione di armi atomiche solo per dieci anni. L'Unione europea e la comunità internazionale devono quindi continuare a spingere affinché Teheran cambi rotta e, dopo 36 anni di scontro, inizi a giocare un ruolo responsabile nel mondo, realizzando le riforme necessarie, dialogando con l'Arabia Saudita e favorendo la composizione dello scontro tra sciiti e sunniti.

Un ringraziamento per il lavoro svolto e per la tenacia con cui ha portato avanti le trattative per l'Unione europea va senza dubbio alcuno al nostro Alto rappresentante Federica Mogherini e alla sua squadra. Il risultato che ha portato a casa dimostra che l'Europa è capace di creare ponti anche tra potenze che non si parlano.

  Ruža Tomašić (ECR). – Gospodine predsjedniče, poštovana visoka predstavnice Mogherini, izgleda da razina europske predanosti borbi za ljudska prava u trećim zemljama pokazuje po mom mišljenju preveliku ovisnost o političkom trenutku. To potvrđuju i vaši posljednji sastanci s iranskim dužnosnicima na kojima ste propustili ukazati na još uvijek prisutan problem smaknuća žena i represije nad ženama u Iranu. Vjerujem da je napredak u pregovorima između Amerike i Irana uvelike doprinio ovoj europskoj selektivnosti i zaboravljivosti kada su u pitanju ljudska prava Iranaca.

Želim znati hoćete li se ubuduće odlučnije založiti za prava žena u Iranu i vjerodostojnije provoditi europsku politiku borbe za ljudska prava jer mislim da je sada poruka Iranu ostala: vješajte, kamenujte, ubijajte koga hoćete, samo ne možete imati nuklearno oružje.

  Juan Carlos Girauta Vidal (ALDE). – Señor Presidente, señora Mogherini, me gustaría preguntarle por las sangrantes violaciones de los derechos humanos.

Desde el inicio de las negociaciones del acuerdo con Irán, cuando el señor Rohani fue nombrado presidente, se han llevado a cabo más de 2 000 ejecuciones en el país, alcanzando la tasa más alta en los últimos 25 años. Se ha condenado también a mujeres por pronunciarse contra la represión política. No parece ser, sin embargo, este un tema al que usted haya dado prioridad, pues en la rueda de prensa, en su visita a Teherán, no mencionó ninguna vez, ni una sola vez, la expresión «derechos humanos».

¿Es eso parte del acuerdo? Quizá podría usted hablarnos unos minutos de su posición sobre ese tema.

  Seán Kelly (PPE). – Mr President, I am a member of the Iranian delegation. I met the Iranian ambassador to Ireland last Friday. I came in here for one minute, to speak for one minute, and you tell me I cannot speak.

You allowed my good friend behind me to give two blue cards. You allowed another speaker to speak for one minute and 45 seconds in a one-minute speech. How do you expect us to come here to sit in debates when we are not even allowed to speak at the very end in the ‘catch-the-eye’? It is ridiculous.

  Presidente. – Guardi, Lei sa benissimo per la sua esperienza che i tempi sono distribuiti dai gruppi politici e la procedura "catch the eye" è una procedura a discrezione della presidenza sui tempi disponibili nei dibattiti. Se non ci sono obiezioni io la parola gliela do, perché non ho nessuno motivo per non darle la parola. Però Lei si ricordi la prossima volta di chiedere al suo gruppo politico di rispettare le sue priorità sulla questione dei dibattiti parlamentari.

  Seán Kelly (PPE). – Mr President, I want to say firstly that the High Representative deserves great credit. One thing she did say that surprised me, however, is that this agreement was not based on trust. Well, if it was not based on trust, how was it arrived at at all? Certainly the implementation of it will need a lot of trust, for all those who are committed to it. There is a great opportunity here for the European Union to give leadership in that regard, and to show trust by helping to lift the sanctions. When those sanctions are lifted, so that the Iranian people and the regime in Iran will see the benefits, that may lead to opportunities to have a more enlightened approach to human rights and to their neighbours, particularly Israel.

(Fine degli interventi su richiesta)

  Federica Mogherini, Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs. – Mr President, let me start by thanking all of you for this important debate. One procedural issue that I have raised once already in this Chamber is that I think I am in my 11th hour in this hemicycle today. I am very happy that this is the case, but maybe you have to reflect a little bit on the procedures of your work, for its efficiency. This is just a suggestion.

Let me say, first of all, what many of you underlined. This is first of all a security deal, a security agreement. I can never stress this enough. First of all because the scope of the agreement itself, by its nature, was, and is still, limited – even if the word ‘limited’ is maybe not appropriate because it is historical in itself – but limited to the nuclear programme. So you would not have expected this agreement to cover other aspects of Iranian political institutional life or its relations with the rest of the world or its internal roots. It is very important to stress that this is a security agreement, also and first of all for the environment, the region of Iran, which is a region that does not enjoy very high levels of security nowadays.

We normally look to Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Daesh, and we are right to do so, but I would like to mention one other security dimension where the deal could open possibilities for investing in more security. This is Afghanistan. We tend to remove issues from the agenda once they disappear from the newspaper headlines, but the fact that we could engage with Iran also on the stabilisation of Afghanistan, which is another country neighbouring Iran, is going to be no less relevant than the rest of the work we will need to do in the Middle East.

There is another important element when it comes to stressing the fact that this is a security agreement, a non-proliferation agreement. This is first and foremost an agreement for the security of the region: starting with the security of Israel, starting with the security of the Gulf, but also for our own European security because, as Europeans, we were the ones closest to Iran of all those sitting at the negotiating table. Some of you asserted that it is only ‘10 plus years’ without a nuclear weapon. Well, ‘10 plus years’ is a relatively long time and the point will be how we use these 10 years politically.

I will come back to that in a moment, but I believe that we have somehow invested in the future of the region and in the future of the country too. I am surprised that nobody in this room mentioned something that has shocked me, at least, very much: the pictures of the young Iranians celebrating in the streets. My reading of the political dynamic inside Iran is that the current Iranian leadership did something that the previous Iranian leadership did not do – decided not to do – which is investing in the possibility for their country to open up to international relations of a different kind, not starting with trust, but working to build trust in the process, and also probably investing in their own younger generations.

That image of the younger generations of Iran celebrating in the streets a diplomatic victory by the current Iranian leadership which took a different political decision from the previous one is, I think, something we have to read because it is also in our political interest in Europe to invest in that kind of Iran.

So that is why I say a lot will depend on how we use these 10 plus years that we have gained. Our role does not stop here. I said at the beginning that we will keep a role – I personally will keep a role – in the implementation of the agreement. But this is not the only role that we as the European Union will have to keep. Our work has not finished with the signing of the agreement. First, because we have the implementation phase, but also because we have to work on future political developments inside Iran and outside Iran – in the region – in which we will need to invest.

Some people asked the most difficult question: will Iran be more cooperative or more assertive and what will be the reaction of the other players in the region? I do not believe we can afford to take a passive approach to this question, to sit and watch what the different players will do.

We can, as the European Union, play a role in trying to shape the future of relations in the Middle East, starting from the role we have played in facilitating the agreement. It will be difficult, it will involve a lot of energy and unity and careful management, but I see this as our role. A strong role on the implementation face and a strong, active role in trying to shape a different kind of regional framework, and also in trying to make it clear for the Iranian people who were celebrating in the streets – not, I guess, strictly on the Iranian details of the agreement, but because of the symbolic and political meaning of that agreement, namely that Iran is opening up.

We have to make a political investment of that kind, and we have a narrow path on which to do so. We have to be wise enough, courageous enough, consistent enough to walk down that path together with our partners.

This also implies our work on human rights. I mentioned that in my opening remarks, maybe some of you were not here but I mentioned that very clearly. The main reason for my visit to Tehran at the end of July was obviously to work on implementation of the agreement. That was the issue on the agenda, that was a follow-up on the deal, but nonetheless I discussed the issue of human rights with all my interlocutors, from the President to the Foreign Minister to the Speaker of the Chamber of the Parliament. And we agreed in the meetings, especially in the meeting with Mr Zarif, to have a human rights dimension to our dialogues.

If you look carefully at the video of our joint press conference, you will see that he is the one making reference to the fact that we agreed to include human rights in our common dialogue, in our common work. To me, this is highly valuable. It is something new. Obviously we have to engage in this direction and you can count on the fact that I will personally do that. I think this is something that may answer the comments many of you made.

Obviously this is just the beginning, this is the start of a story. It is a beginning and we need to invest in that direction. Let me say three final words: firstly on the role of the rest of the partners we had around the table. It was indeed a victory for European diplomacy, but it was also an extraordinary example of teamwork between the European Union and the others: the US, where the administration, the White House, and John Kerry personally all invested a lot of political capital; Russia, which played a key role in achieving this result; and the Foreign Minister of China. That also helped a lot.

Let me say – and this I hope this also answers your question, Mr President, – that having an international common approach of that kind, having different interests around the table, having different points of view around the table, but managing together to find a way forward and reach an agreement, did indeed also offer hope for the fact that different global dynamics could be possible if we identify common ground and common interests. A natural reflection of that was the consensus in the Security Council, which is not something that has happened very often in these past few years.

So, yes, I do not know if it is a model, but it could also be a way to work on other issues and it could be a way too of rebuilding some degree of trust within the international community.

This does not wipe out all the things that keep us far apart from one another, but if we manage to find some common ground on some regional crisis or some global issues, such as non-proliferation where we managed to act together with a view to achieving results that are very much in line with our European agenda, then I think this is positive and we should encourage it.

Someone said: trust John Kerry, trust the European ministers – I do not know. What I do know is that the real point is that we can trust the international community. We did not have just Europe or just the US or just whatever around that table. Around that table we had, somehow, the international community represented on a clear mandate originating from a Security Council resolution. That is why I say that this is an agreement that also restores trust in the international and multilateral approach and we desperately need it. This is really the European approach to diplomacy.

Finally, one word on what Marietje Schaake mentioned: the fact that the majority of our team, at least, were women. That is true. Other women too were playing key roles in some of the delegations, especially Wendy Sherman, but our delegation, our team, was indeed mainly women and I want to share with you that I was really moved in those hours by the reaction of so many women and girls, and even very young girls, not only in Iran, but also in Europe.

I think that we managed to pass on a good message, one for ourselves too because sometimes – and this is obviously natural, more than natural, and obvious – sometimes we focus on the condition of women outside the European Union, but you cannot imagine – or maybe you can imagine very well – how much too we need to understand inside our own countries that women can be a powerful force, especially for our diplomacy but also for our work ahead. That also made me proud. It was a different level of being proud, but it was a very important one.

I thank you very much for all the support you have shown today, but this is just the beginning. We will need to work together closely on the follow—up, both on the implementation and on all the political challenges we will keep having ahead of us, trying to find the right direction for the region as a whole.

VORSITZ: RAINER WIELAND
Vizepräsident