After 7 years a delegation of the European Parliament (EP) visited Iran from 12 to 17 December 2013. The delegation of the EP met the members of the Iranian Parliament, the Foreign Minister and NGOs in Tehran.
For the Chair of the Iran delegation Mrs Tarja Cronberg (Finland) and Vice President of the EP Mrs Isabelle Durant (Belgium) - Members of the Green/EFA Group of the EP - one of the most important events of the visit was the meeting with Mrs Nasrin Sotoudeh and Mr Jafar Panahi. The European Parliament had awarded them its 2012 Sakharov prize. Mrs Sotoudeh was released after the election of the President Ruhani after six years prison. She presented to Mrs Cronberg an emblem of the Evin prison, made by her in prison.
The visit of the delegation marked the first step for a political dialog with the Iranian Parliament. The dialogue will continue in the coming months. Mrs Cronberg hopes that, after the Geneva agreement on the nuclear question in November 2013, a broad dialogue with Iran will follow on human rights, regional security, economic cooperation, drug trafficking, cultural and student exchanges.
