EU foreign ministers to adopt sanctions against North Korea, says Hungarian FM

European Union foreign ministers are set to adopt a proposal for a complete ban on investment and oil embargo on North Korea, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on the sidelines of a meeting of the EU’s top diplomats in Luxembourg on Monday.

Under the proposal, the European Union would also ban the employment of guest workers supporting North Korea’s weapons programme, Szijjártó said. It also calls on the EU to lower the threshold for bank transfers requiring approval from 15,000 euros to 5,000 euros.

This would be the strictest package of restrictive measures ever adopted by the EU, Szijjártó said.

The minister said that at the meeting Hungary repeated its call for the EU to impose its own set of sanctions against North Korea beyond those adopted by the UN Security Council.

On another subject, Szijjártó said the EU considers it important to uphold the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement for the sake of its own security as well as that of the region and the globe.

He said Hungary trusts the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s monitoring of Iran’s actions in connection with the nuclear deal, noting that the agency had consistently certified Iran’s compliance with the agreement.

Hungary therefore firmly supports joint EU action to preserve the agreement,

Szijjártó said, adding that this would keep Iran as part of international cooperation contributing to the region’s stability. If this opportunity to cooperate slips away, Iran would become a destabilising factor both in and outside its region, Szijjártó said, adding that this would also pose a security risk for Europe.

As we wrote yesterday, Iran and Hungary have signed a cooperation agreement in university research, to be coordinated by Hungary’s Szeged University and the University of Yazd in Iran.

Source: MTI