The commission said the move follows the verification of Iran's suspension of its uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities, as confirmed by an International Atomic Energy Agency resolution in November.

"The decision to resume TCA (trade and cooperation agreement) negotiations follows the Paris agreement between Iran and the UK, France and Germany, and the subsequent verification of the suspension of Iran's enrichment and reprocessing activities as confirmed by the IAEA resolution of november 2004," it said.

Negotiations on political dialogue and counter-terrorism will be held in parallel with the trade and cooperation discussion on Thursday, the European Union's executive branch said.

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