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Tehran, YJC. Analyst says that although the EU Parliament does not make direct decisions on foreign policy, a friendship group can help improve Iran-EU relations.
Mateusz Piskorski is the Founder and director of the European Centre of Geopolitical Analysis, former MP. ECGA which is a network of think-tanks operating in several European Union and post-Soviet countries, as well as in the Middle East and Africa. Its main goal is an unbiased monitoring of political processes, peaceful, as well as those connected to military conflicts and tensions.
Asked why the EU Parliament is important, Piskorski said "The European Parliament doesn't make any direct decisions about EU policy, however it can exert an influence on decision makers from the European Commission, as its members are elected by the EP. Particularly now it is important to work with the members of the European Parliament, as the next European elections will take place in a few months (May 2014) and thus can bring new political landscape. After the parliamentary election new European Commission will have to be approved. Therefore, particularly for Iran, it's important to prepare ground for a major breakthrough in European-Iranian relations.”
Providing comments on the role that can the EU parliament play in relation to Iran, he said "European Union is just one of the power centres in the contemporary world, but it still has some potential of what Joseph Nye has once called "soft power". The image of Iran in EU is therefore more important than in another countries, as it is more opinion making than several other states and blocs of states. The latest scandals connected to spying of the top European officials by the US National Security Agency shows that there is a growing gap between EU and Washington. Iran could build up its position in EU. And EU could show more openness for its potential strategic partner in the Middle East - Iran. Moreover, potentially EU is one of the most interested parties when it comes to importing Iranian resources, like oil and gas, as it is willing to decrease its dependance upon Russia in this field.”
He also pointed out that Iran would better form a parliamentary friendship group with the EU, adding "There is a bilateral group between European Parliament and Iranian parliament, although its activities have been frozen lately. It consists of over 30 members of EP, as members and substitutes. They come from different political parties and present different views on Iran. Nevertheless, hopefully some of them are able to understand that the Islamic Republic should be regarded as a significant partner of Europe. I hope that on December the group will finally officially visit Iran and thus start formal relations and activities.”
Piskorski further said "I am sure that Iranian experts should thoroughly study the political worldviews of various European parties to be able to choose from among them genuine friends and partners for the future relations. Our centre will definitely try to do its best to assist our Iranian friends and partners, as we perceive Iran not only as a respectful country but also as a regional superpower which could become pivotal partner for European Union in the region.”
* Interviewer : Mostafa Afzalzadeh
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