EU Funds Iran Conference… But Won’t Attend

This week, the EU’s “Iran Task Force” confirmed to UANI that the Europe-Iran Forum (EIF) was being funded by the EU.

We were surprised to learn this.

Was this not the same conference from which EU Foreign Affairs head Josep Borrell had withdrawn, due to moral outrage at Iran’s execution of journalist Ruhollah Zam?

Was this not the same conference that four EU Ambassadors had likewise abandoned, and which had prompted the French foreign ministry to declare there was to be “no more business as usual” with Iran?

It was the very same.

Indeed, Borrell’s own European External Action Service (EEAS), which oversees the Iran Task Force, had declared just two days before the EIF was due to start in December last year:

“The European Union condemns the execution of Mr Ruhollah Zam in the strongest terms and recalls once again its irrevocable opposition to the use of capital punishment under any circumstances”

But the EIF went ahead anyway this week, absent Mr. Borrell.

According to Brussels logic then, it is unacceptable for EU officials to actually attend this pro-Iran event, but perfectly acceptable for the EU to finance it.

And thus our amazement at the EU’s ongoing double standards.

Certainly it would be hard to find a similar precedent in which an organization had financed an entire conference for which its own members could not attend, due to the most serious ethical misgivings.

By this stage, of course, the EU’s maddening hypocrisy on Iran is an inevitable feature of its approach, commented on countless times by Iran-watchers.

But this latest development is a winner.

The EU’s letter went on to justify this funding, explaining that the EIF was a “part of the EU’s comprehensive approach with Iran, including dialogue with a view to addressing all issues of concern and mutual interests.” (emphasis added).

This is, again, disingenuous.

Having ourselves attended previous EIF conferences, we are well-aware that the EIF is designed with one thing in mind: to induce European investment into Iran.

The only time spent on addressing “all issues of concern” – say, the regime’s relentless sponsorship of terrorism including in Europe, ongoing development of ICBMs that are now capable of reaching Eastern Europe, recent hostage-taking of EU citizens, as well as its current “execution spree” under which Mr. Zam was just one unfortunate victim – was when UANI representatives like Italian Ambassador Giulio Terzi stood up and addressed participants directly.

So, with Mr. Zam now conveniently forgotten after a suitable period (two months), a rescheduled EIF went ahead anyway this week, funded - but not attended - by the EU.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borell