Brussels, 10/12/2013 (Agence Europe) - During their 19th Cooperation Council on 9 December, the EU and Azerbaijan agreed to deepen their bilateral relations as part of the Eastern Partnership, and to continue the implementation of international commitments and obligations. “We want to enhance this cooperation on all levels”, said Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Füle, adding that the EU is committed to pursuing and deepening the “frank and open” dialogue. Hailing the progress accomplished in the negotiations for a strategic modernisation partnership and an association agreement, the two parties agreed to speed up the pace of the negotiations for an association agreement. For this, the EU has called for the finalisation of Azerbaijan's WTO accession negotiations, which would enable a deep and comprehensive free-trade area to be discussed.
Füle called on Azerbaijan “to respect its international commitments” in terms of respect for fundamental rights. “There is still a lot to be done in areas such as freedom of the media, freedom of assembly, freedom of association”, he said, adding that it is “equally important to bring electoral legislation in line with the recommendations of the OSCE” before the municipal elections in 2014 and the parliamentary elections in 2015. Füle also called for more to be done in the fight against corruption.
The EU and Azerbaijan also discussed visas and energy issues. With regard to the conflict in Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan's Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Mahmud Mammad-Guliyev considered it as one of his country's “difficulties for European integration” and believes the EU could play a bigger role in resolving the conflict. “This conflict goes beyond the interests of the region. It also concerns Europe”, he said. (CG/transl.fl)