May 17, 2018
DONALD WHO?:
EU to block Trump's Iran sanctions by activating old law: Brussels has decided to launch the so-called blocking statute, Jean-Claude Juncker says. (HANS VON DER BURCHARD, 5/17/18, Politico)
Juncker told reporters in Sofia that EU leaders decided Wednesday night to activate the so-called blocking statute, which bans European companies from complying with the U.S. sanctions against Iran."We have the duty, the Commission and the European Union, to protect our European businesses," said Juncker, adding: "We must act now and we will act now. That's why we are launching the process to use the 1996 'blocking statute' to neutralize the extraterritorial effects of U.S. sanctions on European companies ... We will do that tomorrow morning at 10:30."The blocking statute would forbid EU companies, under threat of punishment, to cancel business ties with Iran because of the U.S. sanctions.
Posted by Orrin Judd at May 17, 2018 6:23 PM