EU to link Iranian nuclear transparency to trade
Date: 16-Jun-03
Country: EU
Author: Marie-Louise Moller and Paul Taylor
The EU is negotiating a trade and cooperation agreement with Iran, which is accused by the United States of developing nuclear weapons and supporting terrorism.
A draft statement to be backed by EU foreign ministers at a Monday meeting in Luxembourg, said that while Iran had the right to develop nuclear power for civilian purposes, "the nature of some aspects of this programme raises serious concern".
While the EU has not publicly endorsed U.S. charges Iran has an illicit weapons programme, one senior EU diplomat said: "There is agreement that something worrying is going on."
Diplomats said it would be the most serious warning the 15-nation bloc has sent Tehran since they began negotiating a trade and cooperation agreement late last year.
The draft statement said that progress on the nuclear matter and the pending trade deal were "interdependent, indissociable and mutually reinforcing elements".
"This will be a very strong hint to the Iranians that they have to act on nuclear issues if progress is to be made on trade issues," one senior EU diplomat said.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors are in Iran trying to verify that its nuclear facilities are for strictly civilian use as Tehran says.
Last week, sources close to the IAEA inspections told Reuters Iran had twice rejected a request to take environmental samples at the Kalaye Electric Company, where parts for uranium-enriching centrifuges were built.
Highly-enriched uranium can be used in nuclear weapons.
IRAN DENIES NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and says it is willing to accept stricter IAEA inspections if it receives reciprocal benefits and Western help to develop peaceful atomic energy.
EU diplomats said foreign ministers, meeting just as the IAEA is due to publish its findings on Iran, would urge Tehran to accept more in-depth, short-notice international inspections.
The draft statement called on Iran "to conclude and implement urgently and unconditionally the additional protocol" to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
A minority of EU states want to threaten to halt trade talks until Tehran accepts an additional protocol to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, diplomats said.
But most ministers will not slam the door on dialogue, continuing to support reform efforts, despite pressure from part of the U.S. administration to isolate the Islamic republic.
"This (nuclear) matter does fuel a debate on where we draw the line with Iran. But for now, dialogue is better than closing the door on Iran," the diplomat added.
Ministers will also debate a new plan on weapons of mass destruction aimed at using the EU's political clout and export controls more effectively to stop countries making illegal arms.
The action plan includes steps which EU states have to take to put their own house in order, such as ratifying and implementing the IAEA's additional protocols, diplomats said.
Under the plan, the EU would also seek to strengthen export controls on materials that could be used for weapons of mass destruction as well as harmonise laws criminalising illegal exports and brokering of such materials.