What the EU and Iran need is a strategic and structured dialogue. Strategic here means that it must reach beyond the list of specific (usually contentious) issues, look at the larger picture and set more long term goals for what kind of relationship the two parties want to have. Structured, in that it is underpinned by regular interaction on civil servant and technical levels dealing with a variety of sectors...

If reaching a permanent agreement by next month’s deadline proves impossible, the West must lock in the status-quo.