EUROPEAN APPROACH

"The European Neighbourhood Policy, the Eastern Partnership, Nabucco - Azerbaijan is at the centre of all the programmes and initiatives of the European Union and individual European states aimed at rapprochement with the countries of the South Caucasus. It is no secret that with such an enormous problem as Nagornyy Karabakh and in integrating into the world community Azerbaijan needs the European community just as Europe needs a reliable partner like official Baku. What interests Europe most in Azerbaijan? What has the country achieved in cooperation with the EU? What role does Europe see for Azerbaijan in ensuring European energy security? We tried to find the answers to these and other questions in an interview with the European Commission's main representative in Azerbaijan, Ambassador Alan Waddams.

Mr Ambassador, what is Europe's interest in Azerbaijan?

The EU intends to establish good relations with Azerbaijan first of all because of its geostrategic location in the world and the Caspian region and, of course, because this country is an oil and gas exporter. Moreover, Azerbaijan has great potential for the transit of hydrocarbons from Central Asia which the EU is very interested in. The rapid and peaceful settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict and the restoration of peace in the region are, therefore, of great importance to the EU.

What has Azerbaijan achieved in its cooperation with the EU as part of the European Neighbourhood Policy?

I think Azerbaijan has achieved great success in a whole range of areas specified in the European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan, especially in improving legislative conditions for the conduct of the presidential elections and in dialogue with Europe on a variety of problems. Azerbaijan's position as a leading reformer in the International Finance Corporation and World Bank's Doing Business 2009 report is also a major achievement (Azerbaijan was described in the Doing Business 2009 report as a "leading country", i.e., as a country that has achieved the most success over the reporting period - R+).

What can you say about Azerbaijan's prospects for EU membership?

We still have a lot to do on this. There is no prospect in the near future.

What will be discussed during EU Energy and Transport Commissioner Andris Piebalgs's upcoming visit in November? Is this visit a reflection of the EU's growing concern about energy in the wake of the Georgian-Russian conflict?

Mr Piebalgs is commissioner for energy and transport and his visit will focus on energy issues. Of course, this factor needs to be assessed accurately and the result isn't clear yet. In any event, the question of transporting energy resources from the Caspian region to Europe is very important.

In one of your interviews you said that there is a constant struggle under way and competition for resources not only in Azerbaijan but in the whole eastern Caspian region. This being the case, will it be possible to overcome all the obstacles and complete the Nabucco project?

There is a fierce struggle for energy resources under way in the Caspian basin. This is a complex, political issue and it's not easy to predict the outcome. Personally, I think that the region has enough natural gas to satisfy all demands and I believe that at the end of the day Nabucco will work. 

After the August events in Georgia there is talk of movement on settling the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict. Can we expect a cardinal shift in resolving the conflict in 2009? 

Let's see the current forecasts as better than previous ones. I hope that the problem will find a positive resolution in 2009.

What do you think would be the EU's reaction if, for the sake of the territorial integrity of the country, Azerbaijan behaved towards Nagornyy Karabakh in exactly the same way that Georgia did?

The EU has always supported the peaceful resolution of problems and has never approved armed conflict as a way of achieving a goal.

Europe officially recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. In this case why is no pressure at all put on Armenia to resolve the conflict?

The EU is in full agreement with the Minsk Group, which is trying to settle the conflict through mediation, and supports the group. There is no doubt that the EU recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and wishes to see the Karabakh conflict settled on this basis.

How would you assess Azerbaijan's work to become a member of the World Trade Organization? 

It is very difficult to become a member of the WTO. The EU has always supported Azerbaijan's attempts to join the organization and has provided all kinds of assistance on this. Joining the EU is an even longer process and I don't think that the sides are considering it realistically at the moment.

When the EU's special representative for the South Caucasus, Peter Semneby, was in Baku, he talked about negotiations on the Eastern Partnership initiative put forward by Poland and Sweden. Where do things stand at the moment on this?

Yes, the Eastern Partnership was proposed in response to the Mediterranean Union. I think that it will be some time before these ideas and discussions bear fruit.