The EU is closely monitoring the nuclear negotiations between the US and Iran, as a third round of high-stakes talks is scheduled to take place on Saturday in Muscat.
“We are carefully observing the ongoing negotiations,” said David McAllister, chairman of the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee. “For us, one thing is clear: we are committed to dialogue and diplomacy - but also to accountability and restraint.”
Senior American and Iranian negotiators are due to reconvene in Oman this weekend, as US President Donald Trump seeks to secure a deal that would restrict Iran’s nuclear programme, which Washington believes is designed to develop a nuclear weapon. The previous two rounds were held in Muscat and Rome.
Although Europeans are not directly involved in the negotiations, they can still reimpose UN sanctions on Tehran. Since the US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement, it no longer has access to the accord’s so-called "snapback" mechanism at the UN Security Council.
This makes Britain, France and Germany, or the E3, the only remaining parties to the original deal with the ability and interest to impose snapback sanctions.
“I sincerely hope these talks bear fruit, because diplomacy is the right way forward. But we need to see a serious commitment from the Iranian side ... I think the Iranians know what's at stake,” Mr McAllister told The National.
“We in the EU remain concerned about the ongoing destabilising activities, the malign influence Iran has in proxy conflicts across the region, whether it’s Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza or the Houthis in Yemen. Beyond the Middle East, we are particularly alarmed by Iran's military support to Russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine.”
Mr McAllister spoke as he led a delegation of members of European Parliament on a visit to the UAE. The group included representatives of France, Germany, Spain and other EU countries.
The visit came after the UAE and the EU had agreed to begin talks on a possible trade deal, in what would be a landmark agreement for the two sides.
EU-UAE cooperation
The EU and UAE have recently confirmed the commencement of talks aimed at establishing a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. The proposed deal seeks to enhance trade in goods and services, investment and collaboration in key sectors such as renewable energy, green hydrogen and critical raw materials.
This follows the recent imposition of reciprocal tariffs by Mr Trump's administration – 20 per cent on the EU and 10 per cent on the UAE – which have been paused for 90 days to allow room for negotiations. The UAE considers the EU – its second-largest trading partner, with $67.6 billion in non-oil trade in 2024 – a critical economic partner.
The UAE-EU negotiations are viewed as a way to expedite GCC-EU talks.
“The UAE is a key interlocutor for the EU in a region of immense strategic importance,” said Mr McAllister. “With the joint announcement at the highest level that negotiations for a free-trade agreement will begin, we have the opportunity of taking our relations to the next level.”
The announcement to launch these negotiations was prepared over the past several weeks and months. There are growing signs now that momentum could be building again around the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (Imec).
Announced at the G20 summit in New Delhi in September 2023, the Imec is a US and EU-backed initiative aimed at enhancing connectivity and trade flows between India, the Arabian Gulf and Europe through rail, ports and digital infrastructure.
The Gaza war has significantly disrupted momentum around the Imec, stalling diplomatic and logistical co-ordination essential to the project.
"There is a great possibility to work with the UAE on infrastructure projects such as Imec. It would certainly strengthen connectivity between Europe and the Gulf and enhance our shared economic resilience," said Mr McAllister.
Red Sea conflict
Beyond trade, he said the EU and UAE share a common interest in the Red Sea. “We Europeans are heavily dependent on freedom of navigation. Maritime security is of key importance to us. That's why the EU has a naval mission operating in the Red Sea, the Operation Aspides.”
Aspides is an EU naval mission launched in February 2024 to protect commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the Bab El Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. It was established in response to increasing attacks on international vessels by Yemen's Houthi rebels, who say their operations are in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel’s war in Gaza since the October 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel.
Led by Greece under the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy, Aspides has a purely defensive mandate focused on escorting ships and deterring threats. France, Italy, Germany and other EU members contribute naval assets, including warships and surveillance systems.
“Ours is a defensive operation – that's the difference from the US-led missions that are actively attacking the Houthis. That is not the EU's policy.”
Last March, the US launched Operation Rough Rider against the Iran-backed Houthis to protect US and allied forces – particularly Israel – from missile and drone threats and weaken Iranian influence in the region through its proxy network.
With near-daily attacks, the campaign was billed as a response to Houthi provocations and an effort to re-establish US deterrence after what Trump officials saw as a period of strategic restraint.
Gaza war
The EU stands with Israel, but also supports the Palestinian people, said Mr McAllister.
Last week, the bloc pledged a new financial package of €1.6 billion ($1.8 billion) to the Palestinian Authority over the next three years. The EU is the biggest provider of financial assistance to the Palestinians, and EU officials hope that the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, might eventually also administer Gaza when the war with Hamas ends.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has rejected transferring control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority and opposed the EU’s push for a two-state solution.
“The future of Gaza must be one without Hamas … The Palestinian Authority should be, one day, the responsible authority for the West Bank and Gaza,” said Mr McAllister, adding that this will require time and serious negotiations.
He also dismissed previous proposals from Washington for Gaza’s economic redevelopment involving the forced displacement of Palestinians. “Gaza is for the people of Gaza,” he stressed.
