By Martin Banks, The Parliament
European Parliament has been criticised after it reversed its earlier refusal to send a delegation of MEPs to Iran.
The three-strong delegation will visit Tehran from 26 April to 7 May.
The delegates will be composed of Iran delegation chair Tarja Cronberg, a Finnish Greens member, and its deputy chair Cornelia Ernst, the German GUE MEP, and another member of the delegation.
A previously planned visit was cancelled last October after Iranian authorities refused a condition that MEPs be permitted to meet with human rights advocates who were awarded parliament’s Sakharov prize for freedom of thought.
That trip was cancelled only hours before the delegation was departing from the airport, when the Iranian authorities announced they could not guarantee the conditions would be met.
No such stipulation has been made by parliament this time.
Another attempt to send an MEP delegation to Iran in 2011 was stopped when Iran refused to revoke the death sentencing by stoning of the 42-year-old Sakineh Ashtiani.
A meeting last Thursday of the European parliament’s conference of presidents, constructed of parliament president Martin Schulz and the parliamentary group leaders, approved this week’s trip.
The delegation was approved in Strasbourg despite opposition from centre-right groups.
At the meeting, ALDE leader Guy Verhofstadt agreed with the S&D group’s opinion that the delegation should go ahead, while Joseph Daul, leader of the centre-right EPP, and ECR group leader Martin Callanan opposed the idea.
ALDE holds the critical “swing vote” between the left and right in parliament and Verhoftstadt voted in favour of the Iran visit.
Approval comes despite the EU’s recent renewal of sanctions for human rights abuses, as well as sanctions aimed at Iran’s nuclear weapons programme.
Callanan, however, said the decision “sent mixed signals about our resolve towards the regime”, adding, “Parliament is making a profound mistake.”
“We cannot send mixed signals to Tehran about our resolve to tackle Iran’s nuclear programme and our disgust at its human rights record. We need to stand united and allow relations to be handled through those with experience.
“This visit will be abused by the Iranian authorities for their own propaganda. We should not hand them opportunities.
“The mostly left-wing MEPs on this visit seem to think they will be able to talk the government around into stopping its nuclear programme and improving human rights. Whilst I do not doubt their commitment, they are being utterly naïve.”
