In this interview excerpt, Paul Mertz, a Luxembourg diplomat from 1964 to 1998, describes how he returned to politics in 2005 for the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the European Union. During the Presidency, he chaired the ‘Persian Gulf’ group and was responsible for preparations for a ministerial meeting between the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council that took place in Bahrain in April 2005. He goes on to discuss the talks with Iran on the nuclear issue and their impact on cooperation between the European Union Member States in this area.