The State of the European Union. The European Parliament faces its most important elections yet

THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 106 situations close to Europe’s borders. Although these initiatives are modest in their scope, they both point to the fact that the EU and NATO need to face up to the realities of the post Atlantic era. Finally, with respect to nuclear issues, Trump has opened up two fronts. First was his an- nouncement that the US would be withdrawing from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, agreed by Reagan and Gorbachev in 1987, which consisted in the elimination of nu- clear ballistic and cruise missiles with a range of between 500 and 5500 km. This unilateral deci- sion excludes Europe from the geostrategic chessboard on which the United States, Russia and China compete. With the United Kingdom’s position in the EU unclear, France would have to ‘Europeanize’ its nuclear capacity, putting it at the service of the countries that need it. The second front was the United States’ unilateral withdrawal, in May 2018, from the Iran nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) and the reintroduction of sanc- tions. This multilateral agreement had been reached by the Obama Administration in July 2015, and included France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the EU, Russia and China. However, despite the opposition of Defense Secretary James Mattis and last-minute per- sonal visits to Washington by Macron and Merkel, Trump followed through on his threat. For Europe, this move by a key ally was not just a severe blow to one of the EU’s major diplo- matic achievements, but also had negative im- plications for the economic order. Sanctions not only prevent US companies from doing business in Iran, but also affect companies from other countries (including European ones). In response, the European Commission updated its Blocking Statute to enable EU com- panies to recover damages arising from extra- territorial sanctions, a measure that came into force in August 2018 2 . However, this has not prevented some European companies from withdrawing from Iran due to the threat of US reprisals. The case of Iran is a clear sign of the major divergence between the strategic visions of the US and the EU with respect to the Middle East, the nuclear arms regime or re- gional powers such as Israel or Saudi Arabia. The United States withdraws from the Paris Agreement The United States – the world’s biggest produc- er of carbon emissions, per capita – withdrew from the Paris Agreement on Climate Change in November 2016. Washington formally notified the United Nations of its intention on 4 August 2017, 3 although it will not officially leave the agreement until November 2020. In light of the attitude of its transatlantic partner, the EU has pursued its own path, along with 195 countries who have signed the agree- ment, and the 184 who have ratified it. At the end of 2018, the UN Climate Change Conference (COP24) in Katowice (Poland) con- cluded with the adoption of regulations to de- velop the Paris Agreement and implement it worldwide. The EU’s obligation in these negoti- 2 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1101 of August 2018 laying down the criteria for the application of the second paragraph of Article 5 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2271/96 protecting against the effects of the extrater- ritorial application of legislation adopted by a third country, and actions based thereon or resulting therefrom . Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri= uriserv:OJ.LI.2018.199.01.0007.01.ENG&toc=OJ: L:2018:199I:TOC 3 Communication Regarding Intent to Withdraw From Paris Agreement . Available at: https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ ps/2017/08/273050.htm