The European Parliament’s most omnipresent lobbyists are not German carmakers or chemicals giants; it's a group of Iranians called the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). They helped to overthrow the US-backed Shah in 1979, but lost out to the Mullahs in the subsequent power struggle to control the country.
Their representatives are ever-present in the Parliament’s cafés in Brussels and Strasbourg, and frequently meet MEPs, many of whom politically support them.
Now, as Israel and Iran wage war, NCRI's years spent lobbying MEPs are paying off. They brought heavyweight politicians together for several packed events at the Parliament in Strasbourg this week to make their case to lead Iran in a new direction.
Maryam Rajavi, the movement’s longstanding president, called for regime change in a room packed with senior MEPs from the Renew, EPP and ECR political factions. “The only solution to this conflict is the overthrow of the regime by the people of Iran and the Iranian resistance,” Rajavi told a room that contained former Belgian PM Guy Verhofstadt and ex-Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny. She called for free and fair elections and Iran to become a democratic republic. It’s a line that played well to the European crowd.
But the latest conflict is also set to heighten scrutiny of the group’s activities in Parliament, where they are registered as lobbyists spending less than €10,000 a year on their work, most of which they say is done by volunteers.
The Iranian regime says they are terrorists and even in the West not everyone takes them at their word. The group’s militant wing, MEK, was proscribed as a terrorist group by the UK until 2008, the EU until 2009, and the US until 2012. The NCRI argues it was only ever blacklisted because of the West's willingness to appease Tehran and denies all terrorism charges.
Since then they’ve built close ties to the Republican party in the US, and reportedly forged financial links to the far-right Spanish Vox party, through a long-time former EPP MEP turned Vox co-founder called Alejo Vidal-Quadras.
The MEK fought alongside Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi army against Iran in the 1980s and stands accused of carrying out terror attacks in Iran. The MEK insists it has turned its back on violence, and is entirely funded by Iranians, including people inside Iran who risk their lives to support the resistance.
But some outspoken current MEPs also have concerns. French centrist lawmaker Nathalie Loiseau has been pushing for years to exclude NCRI from the Parliament, claiming they use “shady practices” to meet MEPs.
“Because they oppose the detestable regime in power in Tehran, they are welcomed with open arms in Strasbourg and Brussels,” Loiseau told Euractiv this week. “Yet, the enemy of my enemy is not always my friend."
Abir Al-Sahlani, a Swedish centrist MEP, has also pushed for them to be banned from the EU premises. “It's a militia that is built on undemocratic values,” she told Euractiv, describing their support in Iran as marginal at best.
Their Brussels ground game may be mighty, but with the Iranian regime teetering under Israel’s bombs, NCRI’s claims to hold influence at home may soon be put to the test.
Still talking: Reuters reports that the German, French and UK foreign ministers will hold nuclear talks with their Iranian counterpart in Geneva on Friday. EU high representative for foreign affairs, Kaja Kallas, will also take part.
A German diplomatic source was cited as saying the talks were being coordinated with the United States and are designed to convince Iran to provide guarantees that it will only use its nuclear programme for civilian purposes.
DIGITAL EURO: Eurozone ministers will meet in Luxembourg today, where they will be briefed on the European Central Bank’s preparations to issue a “digital euro”. The topic has become increasingly urgent since Trump’s return, with EU officials arguing that issuing a digital euro will reduce Europe’s reliance on US payment infrastructure. Read Tom Moeller Nielsen's explainer.
EUCO CONCLUSIONS: An early draft of next week’s European Council conclusions shows leaders want “rapid progress” on the new defence omnibus and for coordination among member states to implement commitments made at next week’s NATO summit in The Hague.
The text calls for stepped-up returns of irregular migrants, using “all relevant EU tools”. Most of the juicy foreign affairs content, including on the Middle East, is likely to land after a round of EUCO haggling next week.
Also on the agenda: Ukraine, enlargement, competition, the EU’s global role, internal security, and external relations.
EPP LAWMAKER HEADS TO PRIDE: Irish Fine Gael lawmaker Maria Walsh, who is gay, will likely be the only EPP member to attend the LBTQI Pride march in Budapest next week. We hear that Hungarian opposition chief, Péter Mágyar, asked members to think twice about going for fear it would play into Orbán’s hands. “We asked people to consider that it helps Orbán, we didn’t ask anyone not to go,” according to a source close to Tisza, Mágyar’s party. An EPP spokesperson said that “Orbán put up a trap by creating a mess about the Pride. If we run into this trap, we help him divert attention from what he has to hide."
Walsh told Euractiv: “I am proud to be marching in Budapest Pride. I urge my fellow MEPs and leaders from across Europe to join in the celebrations on June 28th because while Budapest Pride will undoubtedly be a party, it must also be a protest."
ANTI-NATO SUMMIT: Former Italian PM and 5Star leader Giuseppe Conte is organising an anti-NATO counter-summit in The Hague on 24 June, hosted at the Dutch Parliament with backing from the Dutch Socialist Party.
Conte has long been railing against Western arms for Ukraine and leading the charge against the EU’s rearmament push.
In a letter, seen by Euractiv, Conte warns that “peace and dialogue remain the most valuable investment in security”. With nations chasing nuclear status, he says, only diplomacy can stop the rising antagonism “slowly but inexorably pushing us toward a global conflict.”
