Brussels, 20/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Union has insisted that the state of cooperation with Kazakhstan will depend on improvements on democracy, rule of law and human rights there. “Closer and stronger bilateral ties must go hand in hand with adherence to the common values of democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights”, EU High Representative Catherine Ashton said in a statement after talks with Kazakh Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov. The talks took place in the margins of an EU-OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) ministerial meeting in Brussels on Tuesday 19 July.
Ashton was positive in her remarks about the beginning of negotiations to review the existing partnership and cooperation agreement, which was launched by the EU and Kazakhstan in 1999. “The start of these negotiations for an enhanced agreement is an important milestone in our efforts to further advance relations and strengthen the EU and its member states' cooperation with Kazakhstan”, she said. The decision to start negotiations was made at the last EU-Kazakhstan Cooperation Council at the end of June.
Despite Ashton's exhortations to improve democracy and rule of law in the country, critics see the EU move as a sign of weakness. The new step in EU-Kazakhstan relations comes after presidential elections in April when President Nursultan Nazarbayev obtained a landslide victory amid concerns raised by international observers. “We believe that it is better to engage with Kazakhstan in a dialogue on a number of issues, including energy, rather than not”, Ashton's spokesperson Maja Kocijancic told Agence Europe.
The Central Asian country is an increasingly important energy partner for the EU. Kazakh oil is already flooding into Europe and the volume of imports may grow if Libyan supplies remain unreliable. Gas is also expected to flow soon and could be crucial for the EU's planned southern corridor energy project. The revision of existing cooperation with the EU was requested by Kazakhstan.