-Iran breaches terms of nuclear deal -E-companies aren't required to have telephone number -Mogerhini visits Sahel region in Africa All this and more on the Brief from Brussels.
Iran breaches nuclear deal terms
ADVERTISEMENTIran has passed the 3.67 per cent uranium enrichment limit set in its 2015 nuclear deal. The country said it will continue to breach the terms of the deal if Europe does not step up to support its economy.
In light of these threats, the deal is in danger of falling apart. The US pulled out of it and put sanctions back on Tehran last year.
Ali Vaez, Iran's project director for the International Crisis Group, said the EU is still fighting to keep Iran compliant.
"It appears so far the Europeans still don't want to kill the deal and they see the Iranian measures as calibrated and reversible, aimed at compelling them and Russia and China to throw Iran and economic lifeline," he said.
Europe implemented a system called the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX) to protect EU firms investing in Iran without being hit by the US sanctions imposed on anyone doing business in the country.
"Certainly European efforts can help buy time, but it's not really going to save the Iranian economy," Vaez said. "That kind of support can come from Asia. If China were to go back to its original level of oil imports from Iran, I think without any doubt the Iranian economy could stay afloat, at least until US presidential elections in 2020."
Meanwhile, as the White House's moves against Iran raise direct tensions between the two countries, the situation is also putting a strain on transatlantic relations with Europe.
Court rules against telephone numbers for e-companies
The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg ruled that online shopping platforms like Amazon aren't always obliged to make a telephone number available to consumers.
However, e-companies are obliged to provide some means of communication such as contact forms, instant messaging, or telephone callback.
To read more about the decision, click here.
German lawyers support reparations
Greece's campaign to make Germany pay additional reparations for the Nazi occupation has an unexpected new ally: the German government's own lawyers.
Berlin's official position is that the issue is settled, but the German parliament's legal service released a paper saying Athens may have a valid claim.
Mogerhini visits Sahel region
The EU's Chief Foreign Policy Adviser Federica Mogherini is visiting the Sahel region in Africa this week.
In Burkina Faso, she met with President Roch Kaboré and other African leaders to talk about economic development, migration, security and the fight against terrorism.
The EU remains the biggest donor of financial aid for Sahel countries.