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| Federica Mogherini |
If most Americans were asked who is the most powerful woman in the countries that currently compose the European Union, chances are that most would name, if they volunteered any name at all, either British Prime Minister Theresa May or German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
They would be wrong if the focus was
on foreign policy influence.
The Italian, Federica Mogherini, is by far the most important power player in Europe when it comes to foreign policy. She is currently the High Representative of the Europen Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. And when it comes to libertarian-style, non-interventionist, foreign leanings within the globalist establishment, no one comes close to her. She is the most formidable obstacle to President Trump's hostile stance toward Iran.
To be sure, she is a serious European lefty. She is a member of the Italian Democratic Party, part of the Party of European Socialists, and would be an absolute disaster if she had any domestic economic influence. But she is in the right place at the right time from the perspective of those who appreciate non-interventionist foreign policy.
In 2015, she was a key member of the group negotiating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the international agreement on the nuclear program of Iran, and along with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was the one to announce the accord to the world.
So how is she reacting to Trump reinstituting sanctions against Iran?
I'll let the Financial Times report (my bold):
With China and Russia, the EU remains a fierce defender of the agreement and has vowed to shield European businesses from US efforts to prevent them from trading with Iran. So Ms Mogherini, who is the closest thing Brussels has to a foreign minister, has come out swinging. This week she urged companies to “increase business with and in Iran as part of something [that] for us is a security priority”.Oh, sweetness. And her non-interventionist thinking doesn't stop with Iran. Again, the Financial Times:
Her most vociferous critics accuse her of taking a soft line on Russian aggression...She even appears to be against Russian sanctions. In April 2017, on her first official visit to Russia, where she met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, she stated that she supported policies in the spirit of "cooperation rather than confrontation"
Mogherini has also opposed the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, saying: "I'm convinced that military action is not a solution."
Continuing to support her negotiation over confrontation mode, in June 2018, she issued a statement stating that the EU praised the 2018 North Korea–United States summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. It is "crucial and necessary step" for denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. EU will be ready to "facilitate and support the follow-on negotiations and other steps" for a peace settlement.
Whereas there are few in the United States Congress outside of Rand Paul and Tulsi Gabbard to be willing to call for the easing of tensions between the U.S. and Russia and Iran, it is good to see there is at least one strong voice on the other side of the Atlantic advocating for peace and civility.
