Iran deal

EU’s ‘blocking statute’

European companies that have invested in Iran are already taking fright, with Danish shipping giant Maersk and German insurer Allianz joining Total in saying they may have to wind down activities there.

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said the bloc would introduce measures on Friday to ease the effect of US sanctions on European companies.

“We will begin the ‘blocking statute’ process, which aims to neutralise the extraterritorial effects of US sanctions in the EU. We must do it and we will do it, tomorrow morning (today) at 10:30,” Juncker said at the Sofia summit.

The “blocking statute”, a 1996 regulation originally created to get around Washington’s trade embargo on Cuba, prohibits EU companies and courts from complying with specific foreign sanctions laws. It decrees that no foreign legal judgments based on these laws have any jurisdiction within the European Union.