BRUSSELS AND BAKU TO COME CLOSER

In early April, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov took part in a meeting of the Azerbaijan-Europe Cooperation Council in Brussels. During the press conference, it was stated that the text of the comprehensive agreement between the parties was ready by more than 90%. It is expected that the remaining provisions of the document will be completed soon and the document will be ready for initialization in May 2019.

A group of diplomats, experts and representatives of interested bodies of the parties initiated the work on the document back in November 2016, after the Council of the European Union issued a mandate to the European Commission and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to negotiate on behalf of the European Union and its member states on a comprehensive agreement with Azerbaijan. The new document was supposed to replace the agreement on partnership and cooperation effective since 1996.

Along with Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia, and Armenia (participation of Belarus is frozen), Azerbaijan is a member of the large-scale Eastern Partnership program of the European Union. Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova signed association agreements with the European Union, as well as “deep and comprehensive free trade agreements”. The less ambitious agreements with Brussels were signed by Armenia and Kazakhstan, which are members of the EAEU established by Moscow. Parties agreed to build the trade and economic blocks of respective agreements with the European Union based on WTO rules and procedures. Since Azerbaijan has not yet joined the WTO, it was necessary to agree on a large number of issues relating to trade and economic relations, so the negotiation process between Baku and Brussels took a lot of time. However, thanks to the mutual interest of the parties, both parties could find mutually acceptable solutions to most of the problems.

Negotiations between Brussels and Baku were conducted in three stages. The first stage included political and security issues, the second - trade and investment, the third block covered social, humanitarian and other areas. All principle issues, in particular such sensitive ones as the territorial integrity and inviolability of the borders of Azerbaijan, are described according to the norms of international law, similarly to those used in the EU agreement with Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. This was achieved during the visit of President Ilham Aliyev in the summer of 2018 to Brussels, where he held talks with high-ranking officials of the European Union and initialled an important interim document on the priorities of partnership between the EU and Azerbaijan.

Incidentally, the position of the EU on the issue of separatism and territorial integrity of states has become more consistent. For the last two years, the European Parliament has repeatedly adopted the Resolution on the EU's foreign policy and security, in which it confirms its commitment to the obligations of the EU to support the territorial integrity of all Eastern Partnership countries within their internationally recognised borders. All without exception. Moreover, the resolution adopted on December 12, 2018 called for abandoning the practice of double standards in the approach to regional conflicts on the part of the EU and its member states. For Azerbaijan, the victim of Armenian aggression, which uses separatism of the Karabakhi Armenians to cover its territorial claims, this is a very important factor.

The EU is the number one trade partner for Azerbaijan; it ranks first in exports and imports. The EU is also the largest investor in both the oil and other sectors of the economy. The Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan makes it possible to gradually harmonize the legislation and procedural practice of Azerbaijan with international and trade-related norms and standards adopted in the EU. The EU provides support to companies in Azerbaijan by providing them with funding, training opportunities and assistance in entering new markets through the EU4Business initiative. Over 25 years of cooperation, Brussels has allocated about 580 million euros for the implementation of development programs in Azerbaijan. During the same period, 43 twinning projects were implemented between Azerbaijan and the EU, the largest number of joint projects after Ukraine.

Azerbaijan is an important energy partner of the EU. Currently Azerbaijan provides about 5% of the EU needs for oil. Azerbaijan will soon begin to supply the EU market with gas resources from the Caspian basin through the Southern Gas Corridor. In 2016, the EU launched a new regional EU4Energy program that supports the Eastern Partnership countries, including Azerbaijan, in meeting their energy policy and energy efficiency goals.

In 2014, agreements on visa facilitation and readmission between the EU and Azerbaijan became effective. Now it is much easier and cheaper for nationals of Azerbaijan, especially those who travel privately, to get short-term visas, which allow them to travel to most EU countries. In addition, Erasmus+ students, for example, can get visas free of charge. Supporting the development of skills is a priority for EU assistance to Azerbaijan. The union pays special attention to vocational education and training so that the skills of the workforce in Azerbaijan best match the needs of European employers. In 2015-2018, the EU Erasmus+ program provided almost 1,300 students and teachers from Azerbaijan the opportunity to study and teach themselves in the EU countries.

A substantive discussion between Baku and Brussels took place under the section of the agreement concerning common aviation space. Indeed, unlike Moldova, Georgia and Armenia, which do not have their own national air carriers, Azerbaijan has such large companies as Azal, Buta and Silk Way, whose commercial interests needed to be protected. However, an agreement in the field of aviation, which takes into account the interests of all parties, will increase competition and encourage carriers to reduce prices while improving the quality of services provided. Ultimately, this will help increase the number of tourists and strengthen Azerbaijan’s position as a transport and logistics center in a strategically important region connecting Europe with Asia and, most importantly, help to achieve high standards in terms of flight safety and air traffic control.

The text of the agreement between the delegations of Azerbaijan and the EU is being refined, while the parties yet to agree on the name of the future document. Baku prefers to use the phrase "agreement on strategic cooperation", and Brussels — “agreement on partnership and cooperation”. But there is confidence that mutually acceptable formulae can be found in the short term regarding the remaining open questions, and by mid-May, during the summit dedicated to the tenth anniversary of the EU Eastern Partnership program, a corresponding agreement can be signed. This is also an important step forward because the incumbent European Commissioners have occupied their posts since November 2014, and their mandate, including negotiations with Azerbaijan, will be over soon. After the elections to the European Parliament in May, the composition of the European Commission will change. So, it is necessary to complete the process as soon as possible and finalise the many years of work of diplomats and experts by adopting an agreement that will determine the format and content of the partnership between Azerbaijan and the EU for the future. After all, there is still a long process of ratification of the signed agreement by the European Parliament and all member states of the European Union.