Commissioner Canete in Iran to strengthen energy co-operation

Climate Action and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete will be travelling to Teheran from 18-20 May 2018 to continue strengthening energy cooperation between the EU and Iran.

A series of high level political meetings are foreseen including with Foreign Minister Zarif, Vice-President and Head of the Atomic Energy Organization Salehi, Vice-President Kalantari, responsible for environment and climate, the Minister of Petroleum Zanganeh and the Minister of Energy Ardakanian. Ahead of the visit, the Commissioner said: “The objective of my visit is to continue to strengthen energy relations with Iran, most importantly now against this new challenging background of President Trump’s announcement. The lifting of nuclear related sanctions is an essential part of the nuclear deal. The European Union has repeatedly stressed that the lifting of nuclear related sanctions has not only a positive impact on trade and economic relations with Iran, but also and mainly crucial benefits for the Iranian people. Since the Iran nuclear deal has been signed in January 2016, it is delivering. In 2017, Iran’s trade with the EU stood at close to €20 billion, registering a 60% increase compared with the previous year. The European Union is fully committed to ensuring that this continues to be delivered on. The EU is also determined to act in accordance with its security interests and to protect its economic investments.” This will be the third time Commissioner Arias Cañete travels to Iran since the beginning of the Juncker mandate. This visit follows the joint energy agreements signed with Iran in 2016, including on nuclear energy, and the first-ever EU-Iran Business Forum on Sustainable Energy, opened by the Commissioner last year and which gathered more than 50 European energy companies and business associations. Following the conclusion and implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the EU and Iran have resumed bilateral relations and launched cooperation in energy (Joint Statement on Energy and Joint Statement on Nuclear Energy Cooperation).