European Union High Representative Federica Mogherini (L) and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif wait for a meeting with officials from P5+1, the European Union and Iran at the Beau Rivage Palace Hotel in Lausanne March 31, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool
Reuters: EU agrees 18 million euro development aid for Iran
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union agreed 18 million euros (£16.1 million) in aid for Iran on Thursday, including for the private sector, to help offset the impact of U.S. sanctions and salvage a 2015 deal that saw Tehran limit its nuclear ambitions.
The announcement is part of the bloc’s high-profile efforts to support the nuclear accord that President Donald Trump abandoned in May. It is part of a wider package of 50 million euros earmarked for Iran in the EU budget.
Read more ....
Update #1: EU approves aid for Iran to help offset US sanctions (The Hill)
Update #2: Europe unveils financial aid package for Iran (UPI)
WNU Editor: The EU creation of an independent SWIFT banking system with Iran is the measure that will severely limit the impact of U.S. banking sanctions .... EU Sees Idea to Create 'Independent SWIFT' to Secure Iran Deal - Source (Sputnik). More here .... EU Might Back Proposal For SWIFT-Like Payment System With Iran (OilPrice.com).
8 comments:
Good news. The multi-polar world can't be postponed.
18 million euros as part of 50 million euros in aid to Iran? Where is this money coming from? EU is in the middle of several crises: from migration, to anti-EU parties and governments, to poor economic performance and poverty (5 million Italians living in poverty while their infrastructure crumbles)... not to mention Brexit... but hey, there's cash for Iran.
Do they actually believe in the deal? Or is this because EU and German companies and banks want to get into the Persian market? Standing strong with Iran and giving the middle finger to the US... Good luck.
I didn't think leaving the deal was the right choice for the US, but what's done is done, and it doesn't make sense to me that the EU actively work against the US in this case (for economic or diplomatic reasons).
Target the European companies doing business with Iran and just simply ban them from doing business with the US.
18 million euro's is a drop in the bucket but it does show Europe is trying to appease the killers in Tehran. German FM Maas suggested with his comments a couple days ago is the replacement of the dollar as the worlds reserve currency. Merkel no doubt approved his commentary before he had it submitted to Handelsblatt Global. In the last few hours she publicly backed off Maas's trial balloon.
What it shows is Germany keeps pulling away from the United States leadership, something it started to do about 15 years ago. For sure Trump is accelerating Germany's movement towards the east. Is this bad for the US? I don't think so. Ending the military burden of NATO is a plus. Will be bad for Germany though.
As for the dollar's role in the world, so many problems have appeared for the US because of it. The feds went wild with deficits once the reserve role was attained.
Going back to managing the value of the dollar, pre-1970, because the world doesn't need it to lubricate the financial system will end the feds wild spending.
Plus the US is a oil and gas super power, without the need to keep the Arabs using the buck. Nice to have but the feds are just to irresponsible to keep it.
The Germans know quite well that ending the dollar's role will send the US into a deep economic slump till the excess dollars in the world are used up. Clearly they don't care.
Keeping my head above water here, but I am starting to get nervous about how everyone want to start skirting the US dollar. That might have substantial consequences if currency wars start. We do live in complex times.
"The Germans know quite well that ending the dollar's role will send the US into a deep economic slump till the excess dollars in the world are used up.":
I've long thought the loss of the US dollar in the role as world reserve currency may be inevitable and there's nothing we can do to change it. If this is the case, the prudent course of action might be to work with other powers to try and ensure a "soft landing" for our economy when the inevitable happens IF it is inevitable.
In this case, an argument for keeping the JCPOA could have been made. Essentially the argument acknowledges that it is/was a crap sandwich that we had no choice but to acceot and stick with as the alternatives are worse. Had JCPOA been marketed this way as a crap sandwich for America that we had no choice on it could have been accepted on these grounds. Frankly had I been POTUS been POTUS I might have kept us in it based upon those grounds.
Unfortunately it wasn't marketed as a crap sandwich. It was marketed as the best thing since warm bread. With the stated goal of DJT to make our country great settling for a crap sandwich would be inconsistent with such a goal. I pray he and his team made the right call on this.
Knowing EU, the "separate SWIFT" will become a reality in 5 years at best.
FFS why is -my- European government doing this? I do not want this. I never was asked to do this.. wtf?! IRAN!??!
Post a Comment