EU Vows 'Biting' Sanctions to Crush Tehran Regime Amid Deadly Protests

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00:00Your country stands at the crossroads of continents and cultures, and this gives Cyprus and Cyprus

00:08a unique expertise in dialogue, in negotiations, and in diplomacy.

00:15And these are assets that will matter greatly, as your steer of our common agenda in the

00:22first half of 2026 is paramount.

00:25And as together we navigate in turbulent geopolitical waters, it fits that the motto, the theme

00:35of your presidency is an autonomous union open to the world.

00:41Concretely, this means that together we will be working on three key strands that will strengthen

00:48our independence.

00:49It is security and defence.

00:52It is competitiveness and decarbonisation, and it is democracy and partnerships.

01:00My first point is on security and defence.

01:04Last year, at the European level, we have made more progress in defence than in decades before.

01:11We have presented the white paper.

01:13We have presented the readiness roadmap till 2030, but we have also enabled the member states

01:22to mobilise up to 800 billion euros to make this readiness roadmap really happen, so to implement

01:30it and to invest in the gaps, the capabilities that we need.

01:34And this includes the 150 billion for joint procurement, the SAFE program.

01:43Yesterday, we had in the College of Commissioner the first eight plans, national plans of member

01:49states, out of 19 member states that have signed up.

01:53It was approved in the College.

01:54And now it's urgent for the Council to approve these plans to allow fast disbursement.

02:00And if things go fast, we could set the record that from the proposal of SAFE in the College

02:09till disbursement, we just needed one year.

02:12That would be fantastic.

02:14Closely linked to our work on security and defence is Ukraine.

02:18Peace talks are ongoing.

02:21At the same time, Russia continues its brutal shelling.

02:25This is the moment to keep our support strong and sustained so we can put Ukraine in a position

02:32of strength on the battlefield, but also at the negotiation table.

02:38And your presidency will have the key role to play to ensure a swift agreement between Council

02:46and Parliament on the 90 billion loan we have agreed on, or we have proposed yesterday,

02:52the legal proposal in the College, and we agreed politically on it in December in the European

02:58Council.

03:00At the same time, we're working with the United States and other partners on the so-called

03:05prosperity pillar for Ukraine for a future peace agreement, how to recover the Ukrainian

03:13economy.

03:15And here, let me underline that the central role that Ukraine's accession to the European

03:23Union plays.

03:25We have seen by experience that with accession to the European Union, a huge boost in economic

03:31growth happened.

03:32Poland is an example.

03:34Since accession to the European Union, Poland doubled its economic size because of access to

03:40the single market, so accession is both a key security guarantee in its own right for

03:47Ukraine, but also the essential engine for future growth and prosperity of Ukraine.

03:55The needs right now are immense, but our track record is also impressive.

04:01In general, it is time for a new European approach to that, and in the environment that we have

04:10right now, in security and defence, we have decided that it is also time during your presidency

04:17to come with a new European security strategy.

04:22My second point is on a competitive European Union, because only if we are economically strong,

04:28we can secure our independence.

04:30The beating heart, of course, of our economy is the single market, as you know.

04:36We will present the 28th regime package to support innovative companies so that they have

04:43only one single and simple set of rules to operate within the European Union, a reduction

04:50of bureaucratic burden and more speed in the growth of companies, innovative companies within

04:56the European single market.

04:59But, as important as the single market is a deep and liquid capital market, we have presented

05:06ambitious files on the Savings and Investments Union, which now need to make significant progress

05:13during your presidency.

05:16Now, finally, we will continue with our work on simplification and burden reduction.

05:22You know that 10 omnibuses are on their way, but they all have to reach their destination,

05:29so we count on you here in the Council presidency.

05:32If these omnibuses are finally agreed, this means 12 billion euros burden reduction for our economy

05:41every year.

05:42But, as I said, not the departure is crucial, but the arrival of the omnibuses agreed is important.

05:49Then, for competitiveness, not looking only at our single market, there's another important

05:55aspect.

05:57Europe's independence benefits a lot from our strong and growing network of trade agreements.

06:04They help to diversify and de-risk, and with that backdrop, Saturday in Paraguay, we will write history.

06:15We will sign the EU-Mercosur partnership agreement, indeed, after 25 years of negotiations.

06:23It will create the largest free trade zone in the world, but our ambition goes further.

06:29We are working hard to conclude our negotiations in your presidency with India, preferably at the

06:36end of this month, as well as with many partners like Australia, the United Arab Emirates, and

06:44Malaysia.

06:46So, all in all, and this was only a short glimpse on the competitiveness topic, my third point

06:54is our common work on migration.

06:56You mentioned it, too.

06:59We must work hand-in-hand to implement the Pact on Migration and Asylum, and there the next

07:05six months will be absolutely crucial.

07:08And I'm glad that I can count on Cyprus' experience.

07:13The overall situation in Europe has substantially improved in the recent years.

07:19If I may cite figures from Cyprus, there it's visible.

07:26Regular, irregular, irregular arrivals fell by 62% in 2025 compared to 2024.

07:35And if you mirror that to the European level, it confirms the trend.

07:40President von der Leyen, as you said, we live in very turbulent times, so turbulent that several

07:45member states sent troops to Greenland.

07:47So, can you please share your thoughts about the situation in Greenland, how the EU can

07:52support Denmark?

07:54And more broadly, you mentioned the new European security strategy.

07:59What do you think should change at EU level in the governance?

08:03Commissioner Kubi, you last Sunday mentioned a European security council, for instance.

08:09So, what should we change and how fast?

08:13To take the second question.

08:15First, we are starting to work on a new European security strategy.

08:21And at the beginning of the work, it's not wise to limit or to expand explicitly already

08:27the different topics.

08:29So, at the end, when we present the European security strategy, of course, you will get answers

08:36on that one, but the purpose is indeed this exercise really to collect all the knowledge

08:41to acknowledge the changes, the geostrategic changes and needs that are out there, but also

08:48the geopolitical changes in our world, and to give an appropriate answer to that one.

08:53On Greenland, what is clear is that Greenland can count on us politically, economically, and

09:03financially.

09:04And when it comes to its security, the discussions on Arctic security are first and foremost a

09:11core issue of NATO.

09:13But I also want to emphasize that it is the Arctic and Arctic security, both topics, are

09:22core topics for the European Union and matter enormously for us.

09:27This is, among others, the reason why we double down investments and supporting Greenland.

09:34You might have seen in the draft budget, we have doubled the amount of financial support

09:43to Greenland.

09:44I have visited Greenland last year, I think it was in February or March, before this all

09:51started, and we established an office, a bureau in Greenland to have a very close cooperation

09:57with the Greenlandic government and people.

10:00We are discussing investments, we're doubling down on these investments now.

10:06The European Union has a very good reputation in Greenland, and we are counting very much

10:11on the excellent cooperation that we have.

10:15We will thus continue our work on Arctic security with our allies, our partners, including the

10:21United States.

10:22So what is happening in Iran is abhorrent, and the killing of the young people is human tragedy.

10:30I cannot comment on other countries' activities.

10:33That's for them to decide what they do.

10:36But indeed, we are looking into deepening the sanctions against Iran.

10:44These sanctions are biting.

10:46So I would not just put them aside.

10:48They are biting, and they have their effect.

10:50They are weakening the regime, and the sanctions help to push forward that this regime comes to

10:58an end, and that there is a change.

11:01It is in the very end the people of Iran who are bravely fighting for a change.

11:06They have our full support.

11:08They have our full political support.

11:11They ask us also to list not only, as we've done, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, but also

11:17others that are responsible for the atrocities.

11:19They are asking us to list them, and I can fully understand with what is happening in Iran

11:24that this is something of importance, and yes, we will do so.

EU Vows 'Biting' Sanctions to Crush Tehran Regime Amid Deadly Protests | APT

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