INTEGRATION DOES NOT MEAN RESETTLEMENT

An exclusive interview with Ambassador Roland Kobia, head of the European Union's delegation in Azerbaijan

-Azerbaijan began its cooperation with the EU in 1996. Has Azerbaijan achieved success on its path to the EU or are there still many obstacles in the way?

- In fact, the EU has been cooperating with Azerbaijan since 1992, when the EU helped Azerbaijan at the earliest stage of its independence with humanitarian aid, food aid and mine-clearing. In 20 years of relations much has changed, of course, and today the EU maintains a broad range of initiatives. Relations between Azerbaijan and the EU are mature, and there is more than cooperation, there is also a political agenda. As part of the Eastern Partnership, and with the aid of our bilateral cooperation, we are cooperating as equal partners in a number of fields of policy, from political dialogue to the economy and trade, from energy to education and from democratization to the social sphere and culture.

Our relations have progressed strongly in recent years. We welcome the fact that Azerbaijan and its president have clearly decided to travel the path of gradual European integration. This has been transferred to mutual commitments with long-term prospects. For example, Azerbaijan realized that it was in its interests to bring its law base into line with EU standards. This was necessary, as are further reforms if Azerbaijan is to gain the most benefit from expanding its cooperation with the EU. The role of the EU is to support Azerbaijan in its decision. The EU is not only a great single market (a population of 500 million) together with Azerbaijan, but is also a guarantee of its compliance with contracts, the supremacy of the law, financial responsibility and market demand. It is an ideal market for sellers and buyers. And the Union has offered the country the most comprehensive regime of association, about which we are having talks with Azerbaijan. This is a huge opportunity for Azerbaijan in the future to establish itself in Europe and draw benefit from its political and geographical sphere.

The EU's agenda is peace, security and the prosperity of our peoples, as well as our neighbours. We are carrying out this agenda, respecting the sovereignty and independence of our partners. I believe that Azerbaijan understands the importance of these concepts and values them.

- If we are giving a rating for cooperation between the Eastern Partnership countries and the countries of the EU, which place would Azerbaijan occupy?

- Basically, we do not assess countries because each country has its own strong and weak aspects. We cooperate with all countries on the basis of a differentiated approach: each country has its own merits, its own interests and priorities. The one common thing for us is that we want to develop relations with them in order to further prosperity and stability. This is not philanthropy, of course; we have a vested interest in this. If we look at the trade-and-economic figures we will see that Azerbaijan has the strongest economy in the Caucasus region and is the EU's second biggest trade partner among the eastern partner-countries after Ukraine. If we look at population exchange and movement of people, then your neighbours are probably closer to the EU for historical reasons. Now, let me tell you that Azerbaijan occupies first place in my own priorities as EU ambassador to Baku!

- On 1-2 March, Azerbaijan and the EU began official talks on simplifying the visa regime. What precisely do we mean when we speak about simplifying the visa regime?

- The proposal on simplifying the visa regime, which the EU made to Azerbaijan, is final proof that the EU is in Azerbaijan not just for the sake of its energy resources, but also with a real readiness to bring the Azerbaijani and European peoples closer together. It is a question of getting to know one another better, about exchange of people, mutual understanding and trust. It is about increasing the mobility of our population, creating synergy, improving contacts and creating opportunities. It is the very heart of closer integration with the EU. This will happen by simplifying the procedure for entering the countries of the EU; the visa fee will be reduced, visas will be issued for a longer period, the requirements for documents which have to be presented will be simpler, and certain categories of citizens, such as students, sportsmen, academics, and so on, will benefit from speedier processing of their visas.

This, of course, must be a two-way process. If we are aware of the disappointment caused by the process of submitting a visa application to the EU in our partner-countries, the citizens of the EU also get upset about the complexity of obtaining a visa for Azerbaijan. The procedures we have now are rigid and aimed at protecting the EU against strong pressure of immigration from a number of regions. That is why the simplification of the visa regime will be carried out at the same time as the agreement on readmission. This is necessary so that the EU can control the flow of immigrants into the EU countries. But at the same time, we accept that well controlled mobility offers immense opportunities both for the EU and for its partners. Again, we are taking a differentiated approach. And the launch of the visa regime/agreement on readmission is a clear sign of Azerbaijan's close integration into the EU. We are opening the doors to Azerbaijan!

- Some experts are predicting a mass resettlement of Azerbaijanis to the EU as a result of the simplification of the visa regime. What is the probability of migration?

- I have been here for two and a half years and I believe that I understand the mentality of the Azerbaijani people well enough to make the conclusion that the people do not, of course, want mass migration to Europe after reaching agreement on a simplification of the visa regime/readmission. People migrate when they have no opportunity to grow and develop: this is clearly not the case in Azerbaijan. There are countless potential opportunities being offered by the economic boom, especially if the Azerbaijani market gradually becomes more liberal, to withdraw from the existing monopolist structure, which should be a priority for the diversification of the economy.

The simplification of the visa regime, having increased contacts between people and between businessmen, in particular, will help to further increase the number of jobs in the country. Therefore, I do not think that there will be a mass flow of people into the EU, but more people are bound to extract benefit from easier access to the EU, and this is the purpose of the agreement that we shall eventually sign with your country. What must be controlled is the illegal immigration of people who are not citizens of Azerbaijan through Azerbaijan as a transit country on to the EU.

- Will an agreement be signed on readmission during the process of the simplification of the visa regime? What is readmission and what does it comprise?

- The simplification of the visa regime and the agreement on readmission are part of a single process - they are two sides of the same coin. They will be discussed and agreed simultaneously. Read-mission means controlling the return of illegal migrants to their countries and coordinating the conditions of this return. This requires special possibilities, as well as adaptation of laws and border procedures. These agreements are more necessary than ever before because they help countries to fight illegal migration in a structured, predictable and humane way.

- How do you assess the talks on the agreement about an association between Azerbaijan and the EU?

- Some progress has been made at the talks on the agreement about association, but we want to have an opportunity to consolidate the tempo of these talks. One problem is that the Agreement on association will replace the existing legal base which directs our relations. Therefore it must embrace all spheres of cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan - a political dialogue, human justice and rights, security, trade and the economy, energy, the development of the social sphere, and so on. As such, it requires dozens of experts working together on specific questions. That is why this is a process, the complexity of which is commensurate with its ambitions. But that is only part of the story, because there are also other agreements on which talks will soon be starting: yet another example is an agreement on aviation ("Open Skies"), which Vice-President Kallas (the vice-president of the European Commission for Transport) proposed to the president, prime-minister and transport minister in 2011. They were all very positive, and now we are waiting for Azerbaijan's decision on a date for the start of these talks. 

- What projects will the European Union prefer to carry out in Azerbaijan in 2012 and why?

- Commissioner Fule arrived in Azerbaijan last week to discuss our cooperation. He held discussions on this with all the relevant structures in Azerbaijan. A decision as to which project is due to be carried out will not depend exclusively on the EU's preferences or choice. It is a mutual process. The selection of projects and programmes which will be implemented in Azerbaijan meets the requirements expressed by the country and complies with its policy. It is the principle of possession on the part of our partner-countries. In 2012 we plan to launch a number of bilateral projects with the maritime administration, the State Securities Committee, the State Migration Service, and so on. We are working hand-in-hand with the government to define the basic priorities and offer the necessary support. The assistance we are offering is also based on talks on the agreement about an association and, in particular, the reforms which are expected in certain spheres.

Alongside support for the authorities, support is also being offered to partners from the civil society. Sixteen new projects have just been signed with NGOs and they will be implemented in 2012, for which the EU has allocated over 2,700,000 AZN. They cover a broad range of spheres, from creating broader opportunities for vulnerable groups such as disabled children and the blind to providing coverage in the independent mass media of key issues, supporting the work of human rights campaigners, or helping to provide greater awareness about the need to protect the environment. Cooperation with civil society organizations in our partner-countries is one of the EU's basic principles.  Civil society organizations are also linked with preparing the basic directions of policy - at this moment in time I am talking about the Eastern Partnership Road Map for which we took advantage of the useful contribution of civil society organizations in Azerbaijan, which we are due to complete at the end of this year.

As you can see, 2012 will be just as challenging a year for the EU and Azerbaijan as 2011 was.