The European Union (EU) says the bloc could lift some sanctions against Iran in December or January as part of the deal between Tehran and world powers in Geneva.
Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - Britain, China, France, Russia and the US - plus Germany sealed an interim deal on November 24 to pave the way for the full resolution of the West’s decade-old dispute with Iran over the country’s nuclear energy program.

In exchange for Iran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities, the United States and its allies have undertaken to lift some of the existing sanctions against Tehran.

Michael Mann, spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, said on Monday that “There is at the moment a proposal for the easing of a limited number of sanctions.”

“I cannot say at this point exactly when the initial decisions on this would happen - it could be in December, it could be in January,” he added.

He said the EU experts should prepare the draft amendment to the sanctions legislation that must be endorsed by the EU foreign ministers later.

Mann said that the timing of the partial sanctions removal “depends how long the legislative process takes”, adding that it would be coordinated with Iran.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius also said on Monday that the EU would likely ease some of the sanctions imposed against Iran in December.

He said EU foreign ministers would meet in a few weeks to present a proposal to partially remove some sanctions.

At the beginning of 2012, the European Union placed an embargo on Iranian oil and petrochemicals exports, banned the trade of precious metals as well as transactions with the Central Bank of Iran and froze its assets across the bloc. The measures came into effect as of July 1, 2012.

By Press TV

 

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