Middle East de-escalation, Iraq support and Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA)

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is a detailed, 159-page agreement with five annexes reached by Iran and the P5+1 (China France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) on July 14, 2015. The nuclear deal was endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2231, adopted on July 20, 2015. Iran’s compliance with the nuclear-related provisions of the JCPOA will be verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) according to certain requirements set forth in the agreement. On May 8, 2018, President Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the JCPOA and reinstate U.S. nuclear sanctions on the Iranian regime.

Extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council - January 2020
10 January 2020

The Council discussed recent developments in Libya, including the military escalation around Tripoli and, in the margins of the meeting, had the opportunity to be briefed by the UN Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Ghassan Salamé.

Ministers expressed their agreement about the need for the EU to engage strongly to avoid that the current crisis spirals out of control, and gave a mandate to the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, to engage with all actors with the objective of moving towards a political solution in the framework of the Berlin process and the UN-led mediated efforts.

Recent developments in Iraq
The Council was briefed on the latest developments in Iraq, including through an informal exchange with the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg.

Ministers were invited to assess the consequences of the recent escalation of tension and major security incidents in Iraq and in the region and discussed the impact of these developments on the international coalition engaged in the fight against Da'esh.

The Council called for urgent de-escalation and maximum restraint. It also condemned every attack on coalition forces engaged in the fight against Da'esh and restated that this fight remains a EU priority.

Foreign affairs ministers stressed their continued support for Iraq's stability and reconstruction, as well as for the preservation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), as a key element of the global nuclear non-proliferation architecture. At the same time, ministers called on Iran to go back to full compliance with the JCPoA without delay.

Finally the Council gave a mandate to the EU's High Representative to carry out diplomatic efforts with all parties to contribute to de-escalation in the region, support political dialogue and promote a political regional solution.

#Iran
#Libya
#EuropeanUnion
#Turkey
#war
#USvsIran
#MiddleEast
#Brussels
#eudebates