Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said on Thursday 4 April that negotiations on the new EU-Azerbaijan Partnership Agreement could be concluded in May. The talks were launched in February 2017 (see EUROPE 11719/4).
“More than 90% of the text is already agreed, the rest is almost agreed too. [We are ] looking forward finalizing all documents and initialling probably next month”, he announced at the end of the 16th Association Council between the two sides.
“We share the ambition to conclude the negotiations quickly”, confirmed the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini. “The EU's objective is also to finalise the negotiations as soon as possible and to initial this agreement not only during our mandate, but, I would say, even in the coming weeks”, she added.
According to Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for Enlargement Negotiations, this new agreement will strengthen economic ties, including the diversification of the Azerbaijani economy, support the country's accession to the WTO and improve the business and environmental climate. He added that the EU and Baku were already cooperating extensively in areas such as the environment, climate, transport and connectivity. Mr Hahn hoped that negotiations on a common aviation area could soon be finalised. Mr Mammadyarov stressed cooperation on energy, including the South European gas corridor.
The European and Azerbaijani representatives also discussed the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, recalling the EU's support for Azerbaijan's “independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity” and the peaceful settlement of the conflict (see EUROPE 12226/26).
Issues related to human rights, the rule of law and democracy were also discussed. “We still have limited space for civil society and human rights defenders in Azerbaijan, but we welcome the recent pardon granted to political prisoners by President Ilham Aliyev”, said Ms Mogherini (see EUROPE 12216/22). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)