Global Geopolitical Series: EU plans to activate blocking statute to save EU companies from Iran sanctions

The European Commission is set to launch a legal process which would activate a blocking statute in the European Union treaty in order to protect European companies from the looming sanctions of the United States, which is set to come live later this year. Since the U.S. President Donald Trump moved the United States out of the Iran nuclear agreement and promised harshest of sanctions on Iran earlier this month, European leaders have been working on plans to protect EU companies that have invested billions of euro in Iran since the deal was reached back in 2015.

The statute, which was adopted back in 1996, refers to a law that makes it illegal for a European Company to comply with U.S. sanctions. The European Commission’s chief, Jean Claude Juncker has confirmed that the commission would begin the process of activating the statute this Friday. The announcement came from Juncker after a meeting of European leaders in Sofia, Bulgaria. Speaking at the same conference the European Council President Donald Tusk reiterated the 28 European Union members’ commitment to the Iran nuclear agreement and protection of the EU companies that have vested interests in Iran.