EU Split On Iran Oil Embargo Despite New Round Of Sanctions

European Union nations have agreed to impose tough new sanctions on 180 Iranian officials and firms over the country’s alleged attempt to acquire nuclear capabilities, though the meeting in Brussels stopped short of any decision to halt the purchase of oil from the Islamic state.

European Union nations have agreed to impose tough new sanctions on 180 Iranian officials and firms over the country’s alleged attempt to acquire nuclear capabilities, though the meeting in Brussels stopped short of any decision to halt the purchase of oil from the Islamic state.

The latest round of sanctions is a follow-up on penalties imposed by the US against Iran last month. According to a EU statement released on Thursday, 39 individuals and 141 companies have been targeted to have possible links with Iran’s nuclear program. These parties are expected to face economic sanctions from the EU including a travel ban as well as the freezing of their assets in the region. 

[quote]”The council agreed to broaden existing sanctions by examining, in close co-ordination with international partners, additional measures including measures aimed at severely affecting the Iranian financial system, in the transport sector, in the energy sector,” said the statement as quoted by the BBC.[/quote]

However, some EU states are hesitant to extend the sanctions to an oil embargo against Iran.

“Greece has a certain number of reservations,” said French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe. Iran accounts for about 5.7 percent of Europe’s oil imports, while Greece recently stepped up its purchases of Iranian oil because other suppliers were suspicious of the nation’s credit.

Petroleum analysts have also warned that global energy prices would rise even further if, and when, an oil embargo is imposed on Iran. The tumult in the Muslim world has already pushed up oil prices this year to record level, with the rebellion in Libya boosting the price of European benchmark Brent crude to more than $125 a barrel in April.

Still, most observers believe that the EU will hammer out tougher sanctions against Iran come their next meeting in January.

[quote]“The energy sector is certainly an area that has to be worked on and the financial area overall,” said German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle to Bloomberg BusinessWeek. “There are links to Europe that from our perspective have to be severed. What’s most important is to dry up the financial sources for the nuclear program.”[/quote]

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton added that the bloc would “look at a range of issues including the energy sector, but the detail of exactly what shall be done now goes to the technical experts.”

While France Foreign Minister Alain Juppe warned that “tough and unprecedented sanctions” could be taken against Iran by January, Juppe also sought to reassure European countries with high Iranian oil imports that their interests would also be considered.

[quote]“We have to take account of them (European countries) and work with the different partners so that the interruption of Iranian deliveries can be offset by higher production in other countries.”[/quote]