Baku, Azerbaijan, April 2
By Emin Aliyev -Trend:
The work on the association agreement between the European Union (EU) and Azerbaijan continues, head of the EU representative office to Azerbaijan, Malena Mard told journalists on April 2.
"Negotiations continue. I can say that, the work is carried out intensively, and the parties agreed on most of the articles of this agreement. We hope that the work on associative agreement will be activated this year," the head of the mission said, adding that the conclusion of this agreement defines new legal base for further cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan.
The Association Agreement covers four areas - political dialogue, including issues of security; justice and human rights; economic, social and humanitarian issues; and trade. Negotiations are conducted regarding all of these areas.
The last direction will be the creation of future opportunities for the export of Azerbaijani goods to the EU countries.
Azerbaijan already enjoys the duty-free export of several thousand types of products to EU countries.
Relations between the EU and Azerbaijan are being carried out under the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement which was signed in 1996 and came into force in 1999.
However, the government does not intend to artificially extend the signature time of the Association agreement, as it will create a legal framework for further cooperation with the EU. Negotiations on association membership were launched in July 2010.
The EU intends to sign an agreement separately with each of the South Caucasus nations; the content of these agreements will depend on their depth of cooperation with the EU. In addition, plans to sign a separate agreement on the simplification of visa regimes with EU countries exist.
On September 30, 2009 in Brussels, the foreign ministers of the three South Caucasus countries participated in the annual session of the European Council for Cooperation with the South Caucasus Countries.
At this meeting, a decision was made regarding the prospects of associate EU membership for the South Caucasus countries, which is the most effective stimulus for conflict resolution and internal reforms in the region.
Translated by S.I.
