CERCLE DIPLOMATIQUE - issue 03/2023

L’AUTRICHE INTERVIEW
capacity, autonomy and influence. This is
very important for many countries, but it is
often not automatically perceived by them.
In Vienna we have many important UN organisations
and agencies like UNODC,
UNIDO and in particular the IAEA. The
later is front runner in the forefront in defending
and protecting nuclear safety and
security. The most important example is
the Zaporizhzhya power plant, where the
IAEA is very involved and the EU as such
has mobilised enormous resources to support
the organisation as well as its mission
in Ukraine.
Are the international organisations, more than
ever needed, to provide spaces for strategic diplomatic
negotiations between different nations to
enhance security for the public?
I believe in our world today, which became
in the last decades more globalised and
more complex, international organisations
are needed more than ever to harmonise
the international norms and agreements,
not only for governments, countries, institutions,
but also companies. I think there is
an enormous need for strengthening of
rule-based effective and sustainable multilateralism
and the International Organisations.
This is a process which has started
after WWII, with the creation of the United
Nations and that continues to evolve. Of
course, many issues have emerged since
then and there is still a lot of work to do.
What are the key developments, both internally in
the United Nations in Vienna and of a more
external basis in the European Union, which focus
primarily on the structural cooperation and
coordination between the EEAS and its involvement
in the Iranian nuclear negotiations?
The Iranian nuclear crisis is nothing
new and has been accompanying us for 20
years now. From the European Union angle,
the EU has been increasingly involved
into the management of this Iranian nuclear
issue. There were moments of success
which were also considered as one of the
biggest successes of EU foreign policy since
the creation of the EEAS. Yet there have
also been unfortunate developments under
the Trump administration in the USA
when they left the agreement. There have
been talks going on in the last few years
here in Vienna, at Palais Coburg, how to
revive and reimplement the agreement
with Iran which was agreed in 2015. These
talks, unfortunately, have not been conclusive
so far. The whole situation is now very
difficult in terms of geopolitics because of
many reasons. The EU continues to be the
key facilitator of the Iran nuclear talks and
to coordinate the implementation of the
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JC-
POA). The EU High Representative for
Foreign Affairs and Security Policy serves
as the Coordinator of the Joint Commission,
which comprises representatives of the
JCPOA participants. In this context, the
EU closely cooperates with the IAEA,
which is monitoring and verifying the voluntary
nuclear-related measures as detailed
in the JCPOA.
Can you elaborate on your experiences and
impressions as well as on your role in the Iran
nuclear negotiations in the last 20 years?
It was a fascinating experience to work
with so many countries such as France,
Germany and the United Kingdom, but also
Russia, China, the United States and last but
not least also with Iran. The EU is forging
daily consensus on common ground in
many areas – from agriculture to security
policy. This is why I think the European
Union and its officials have been very well
placed to play this role to sit in the middle
and basically try to absorb controversial positions
from different sides and to come out
with something creative which would allow
to move forward. I have learned a lot, especially
how to deal with diplomatic actors
and different cultures.
PHOTO: RALPH MANFREDA
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80 Cercle Diplomatique 3/2023