European Council is not above the law

The Friends of a Free Iran parliamentary inter-group has accused the European Council of "open defiance of the European Courts" following the decision taken on 30th January 2007 at the Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting, regarding the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI). A spokesman for the inter-group described the decision as "A blatant violation of the ruling of the European Communities' Court of First Instance, of 12th December 2006."
The European Council announced on 31st January that it has "decided to provide the PMOI with a statement of reasons for keeping it on the EU's 'asset freeze list' of persons, groups and entities involved in terrorist acts, and to give the PMOI one month to present its views, together with any supporting documentation". (Press release: 2778th Council Meeting, Economic and Financial Affairs). The PMOI were later informed that the British Government was the main sponsor of the proposition.

In the conclusion of its judgment in the case of the "PMOI -v- the Council of the European Union", the European Court of First Instance wrote unequivocally in Item 2 that it "Annuls, in so far as it concerns the applicant, Council Decision 2005/930/EC of 21 December 2005 implementing Article 2(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 on specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities with a view to combating terrorism." The Court also stated in paragraph 35 that when a court annuls an act "the act is eliminated retroactively from the legal order and is deemed never to have existed." The Court decision effectively un-froze the assets of the PMOI and 4/5ths of the legal costs were awarded against the Council.

According to the Friends of a Free Iran Inter-group, the statement of reasons now being provided by the European Council as justification for keeping the PMOI on the EU terrorist list is a worthless charade, which makes a mockery of the rule of law upon which the institutions of the EU and European Member States rely. Violating the rule of law and placing the Council's opinion above that of the highest EU courts in yet another pathetic attempt to appease Iran, is both scandalous and shameful. The fact that the issue was raised in the Economic and Financial Affairs Council meeting instead of the meeting of Foreign Ministers, further underlines the crass attempts to rush through this decision, in a forum where little or no knowledge of the situation could be expected.

The PMOI is a legitimate resistance movement and its inclusion on the terrorist list was, from day one, the blatant product of a deal with the clerical regime in Iran. But the decision by the Council of Ministers has stepped over recognised red lines in Europe. While the mullahs' President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is calling for the annihilation of Israel and rapidly threatening with the nuclear capability, it ill befalls the European Council to continue its failed policy of appeasement. While Iranian revolutionary guards roam freely in Iraq, inflaming the insurgency, killing allied troops and murdering countless innocent civilians, the Council of Ministers should be offering support to those who oppose the mullahs, rather than seeking to tarnish them with lies and distortions. While the Iranian regime engineered and financed the recent war between Israel and Hezbollah and continues to cultivate civil war in Palestine and Lebanon, the European Council should be confronting Tehran from a position of strength, rather than displaying craven weakness.

The Friends of a Free Iran parliamentary inter-group demands that the Council immediately implement the ruling of the Court of First Instance and removes the PMOI from the EU terrorist list once and for all. The Council's defiance of the Court's ruling benefits no-one except the extremists who rule Iran and who are the enemies of peace and democracy. All members of the European Parliament, especially those on the Committees on Foreign Affairs and Civil Liberties, should condemn this unlawful decision by the Council of Ministers and insist that the rule of law should be respected and upheld at all times and never forfeited to satisfy base political interests.

- Alejo Vidal Quadras, (EPP-ED), Vice President of the European Parliament

-Luisa Morgantini, (GUE-NGL), Vice President of the European Parliament

- Manuel Dos Santos, (PSE), Vice President of the European Parliament

- Edward McMillan-Scott, (EPP-ED), Vice President of the European Parliament

-Struan Stevenson, Vice President of the EPP-ED Group & Co-Chair of the Friends of a Free Iran Inter-group

-Paulo Casaca, (PSE) Co-Chair of the Friends of a Free Iran Inter-group

- Helmuth Markov, (GUE-NGL), Leader of PDS Group

- Avril Doyle, Leader of Irish Delegation in EPP-ED

-Piia-Noora Kauppi, Leader of Finnish Delegation in EPP-ED

- Benat Joan i Mari, (Verts-ALE), Vice President ACP-EU JPA

- Karin Resetarits, (ALDE)

- Jean Spautz, (EPP-ED), Former President of the Chamber of Deputies, Luxembourg

- Astrid Lulling, (EPP-ED), Quaestor

- Girts Kristovskis, (UEN), Former Defence Minister of Latvia

- André Brie, (GUE-NGL)

-Mogens N.J. Camre, Vice President of UEN Group in the European Parliament

- Richard Falber, (PSE)

Sincerely,