Brussels, 08/12/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 8 December, the Foreign Affairs Council welcomed the fact that the Commission had proposed negotiating briefs with a view to concluding association agreements with Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan (three of the six Eastern Partnership beneficiary countries). The Council will proceed to a timely adoption of these negotiating directives once the countries in question have met all the criteria, foreign ministers say in conclusions adopted on Tuesday. Negotiation strictly speaking will be conducted individually and will be based on the principle of differentiation (each country being treated according to its own merits) and conditionality, ministers say. The future association agreements will also contain the prospect of a free trade zone with the EU but only for the countries that have already joined the WTO. Georgia and Armenia are already WTO members, unlike Azerbaijan. (H.B./transl.jl)