Belgian Minister Unhappy With Helms-Burton Pact
June 27, 1998 - 0:0
BRUSSELS Belgian Foreign Minister Erik Derycke said on Wednesday he was unhappy with a European Union compromise with the United States on U.S. sanctions laws and predicted there could be new battles ahead on the issue. The United States and the 15-nation EU hammered out a deal last month aimed at ending a bitter dispute over U.S. sanctions laws discouraging investment in Cuba, Iran and Libya. Under the accord, reached by President Bill Clinton and EU leaders at a London summit, the United States agreed to grant some waivers to both the Helms-Burton Law on Cuba and the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA).
Derycke, speaking at a hearing on sanctions laws at the European Parliament, said he had told other EU foreign ministers last month of his disappointment over the EU-U.S. compromise. By suspending its World Trade Organization action against Washington over the Helms-Burton Act and agreeing to explore an amicable solution, the EU has, in a way, decided to accept the extraterritorial effect of the American legislation in question, he said.
Derycke said he did not think the terms of the agreement were very favorable to the EU, which was forced to accept precise investment disciplines and in exchange received only a U.S. commitment to grant certain waivers from the laws. Today, I can only confirm my dissatisfaction. I remain convinced that the elimination of the extraterritorial effects of the Helms-Burton and ILSA laws or of any other legislation with the same scope must remain our goal, he said.
Derycke said he was aware of the constraints which prevented the EU from acting more firmly on the sanctions issue. However, he said the May agreement was to some extent... not the end of the war. I think there are a lot of reasons to get prepared for a new battle, even if I hope it won't be necessary, he said.
The U.S. sanctions laws have long been an irritant in EU-U.S. relations. The EU says extraterritorial laws which seek to bind other countries violate international law. The Helms-Burton act allows the United States to penalize foreign firms that invest in Cuban property seized after the 1959 communist revolution while ILSA allows sanctions for investing in the energy sectors of Iran and Libya. Under the May deal, Clinton waived the threat of penalties against France's Total, Russia's Gazprom and Malaysia's PETRONAS for signing a $2 billion contract last year to develop Iran's South Pars gas field.
(Reuter)
Derycke, speaking at a hearing on sanctions laws at the European Parliament, said he had told other EU foreign ministers last month of his disappointment over the EU-U.S. compromise. By suspending its World Trade Organization action against Washington over the Helms-Burton Act and agreeing to explore an amicable solution, the EU has, in a way, decided to accept the extraterritorial effect of the American legislation in question, he said.
Derycke said he did not think the terms of the agreement were very favorable to the EU, which was forced to accept precise investment disciplines and in exchange received only a U.S. commitment to grant certain waivers from the laws. Today, I can only confirm my dissatisfaction. I remain convinced that the elimination of the extraterritorial effects of the Helms-Burton and ILSA laws or of any other legislation with the same scope must remain our goal, he said.
Derycke said he was aware of the constraints which prevented the EU from acting more firmly on the sanctions issue. However, he said the May agreement was to some extent... not the end of the war. I think there are a lot of reasons to get prepared for a new battle, even if I hope it won't be necessary, he said.
The U.S. sanctions laws have long been an irritant in EU-U.S. relations. The EU says extraterritorial laws which seek to bind other countries violate international law. The Helms-Burton act allows the United States to penalize foreign firms that invest in Cuban property seized after the 1959 communist revolution while ILSA allows sanctions for investing in the energy sectors of Iran and Libya. Under the May deal, Clinton waived the threat of penalties against France's Total, Russia's Gazprom and Malaysia's PETRONAS for signing a $2 billion contract last year to develop Iran's South Pars gas field.
(Reuter)