Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The European Parliament has begun to consider a package of measures to support European companies in the context of extraterritorial American sanctions, the so-called the EU plan to counter US extraterritorial sanctions.

The goal is to protect the EU economy and reduce dependence on the United States. The package of measures has been prepared by the International Trade Committee of the European Parliament.

US extraterritorial (secondary) sanctions applied in the form of fines and blocking of funds in accounts and the seizure of assets against not only American, but foreign individuals and legal entities cooperating with individuals and legal entities included in the US sanctions lists.

Secondary US sanctions, blocking companies around the world from accessing the American financial system, are identified by the developers of the package of measures as a serious challenge for the 27 countries of the European Union.

It is noted that a special threat to the economies of the EU countries is created by several US sanctions programs aimed primarily against Iran and Russia.

First, it is indicated that due to restrictions on trade relations between the EU and Iran due to US secondary sanctions, European corporations, in particular Airbus and Total, have suffered losses in the billions of euros.

Secondly, it is noted that after Washington introduced new restrictions on the Nord Stream 2 project, more than 120 companies that worked on the construction of the pipeline could lose European jobs.

In view of the above, the plan envisages a number of measures by which the EU can resist US influence.

In particular, the EU Commission and EU bodies are empowered to:

1) publicly raise the issue of the illegality of secondary sanctions, monitor the adoption of the sanction and declare the negative position of the EU;

2) encourage European companies to apply to arbitration courts to challenge the actions of US sanctions;

3) improve the INSTEX mechanism (conducting trade exchanges with Iran bypassing US sanctions);

4) create a separate department within the EU structure, which will deal with the introduction of retaliatory sanctions and other countermeasures against US restrictions;

5) to increase the share of the euro in international settlements in order to reduce the degree of dollar dominance in the global financial system.

The proposals developed by the European community to counter US sanctions have sparked active discussions by observers who emphasize the insufficient potential of European resources to effectively resist US pressure.

It is noted that "the real prospect of being included in the US blacklist and losing access to the American financial system remains a serious threat to the EU." At the same time, it is emphasized that only an increase in the volume of transactions in euros as an alternative world currency can reduce the EU’s dependence on the US in the long term.

Experts believe that the EU’s statement on the inadmissibility of secondary US sanctions is rather a signal to Washington to reconsider its sanctions policy. However, the adoption of concrete actions by the EU on this issue can be expected only after the inauguration of the newly elected US President J. Biden.

On the other hand, when filing complaints with the WTO appellate body, Brussels has practically no chance of winning, since the United States blocked the process of appointing new judges to the organization’s appellate body.

In general, experts say that the package of measures is still declarative. However, the initiation of this plan demonstrates the increasing readiness of the EU to defend its economic and political interests in the international arena.