France to lead EU drive to defy sanctions, bolster euro

The Financial Times cited Le Maire as saying in an interview that "Europe refuses to allow the US to be the trade policeman of the world" now that Washington's new batch of anti-Iranian sanctions has come into effect, Sputnik reported.

He argued that the US-EU row over the Iran sanctions and the bloc's push to create a new financial mechanism aimed at continuing trade with Iran underscored the necessity for Brussels to ensure its "economic sovereignty" from Washington.

La Maire touted the Special Purpose Mechanism (SPV) as "the financial instrument of Europe's independence," saying that the SPV should "allow us to trade in any product, with any country, so long as it is in line with international law and Europe's commitments."

He also argued that the SPV will add significantly to making the euro as powerful as the dollar, a task that he said should also be implemented by deepening the Eurozone's capital markets and creating a single budget.

"It is urgent to adopt these new instruments to help the Eurozone gain strength and stability. That is the first step on the path of making the euro an international reference currency," he emphasized.

Le Maire's remarks came after a new batch of US sanctions on Iran’s oil trade as well as shipping and banking came into force on Monday.

At the same time, Washington exempted eight nations from the sanctions on importing oil from Iran. They include China, India, Italy, Greece, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey.

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