The European Union will stick to the Iran deal and the bloc's leaders have mandated their Brussels-based executive to defend the interests of European companies dealing with Tehran from U.S. sanctions if needed, a top EU official said Thursday.
"On Iran nuclear deal, we agreed unanimously that the EU will stay in the agreement as long as Iran remains fully committed to it. Additionally, the Commission was given a green light to be ready to act whenever European interests are affected," European Council President Donald Tusk said after a two-day EU leaders' summit in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the EU was ready to start trade talks with the United States in some areas if Washington gives permanent exemptions from aluminum and steel tariffs.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel also stressed that all European Union member states will continue to back the 2015 nuclear deal, adding that they would continue to talk to Washington about the issue after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the agreement.
"All member European Union states are still backing this agreement, despite the fact the United States has decided not to, and we will continue talks with the United States," she told reporters on the sidelines of the EU leaders' summit.
Merkel said her planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday was not linked to EU problems with Trump.
French President Emmanuel Macron noted that the EU has agreed on a joint stance to preserve the benefits of the 2015 deal and protect the interest of firms, following Washington's withdrawal.
He said other EU partners were in agreement to expand the 2015 accord after 2025, to address Iran's ballistic program and its influence in the region.
But Macron also said the 28-member bloc would not become Iran's ally against the U.S.
The European Commission announced earlier it would launch on Friday the process of activating a law that bans European companies from complying with U.S. sanctions against Iran and does not recognize any court rulings that enforce American penalties.
