Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.3
By - Trend:
As part of Azerbaijan's cooperation with the EU, Brussels will host the fourth conference of the subcommittee on justice, security, human rights and democracy, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said on Feb.3.
During the meeting to be held in Brussels on Feb.3 and Feb.4, it is expected to discuss projects on cooperation and their prospects.
The head of the delegation from the Azerbaijani government is Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammadguliyev.
During the negotiations it is also planned to discuss the implementation of the joint declaration on migration and mobility signed in December 2013.
Relations between Azerbaijan and EU are based on the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement signed in 1996 in Luxemburg and came into force in 1999. The foreign ministers of EU countries issued a mandate to the European Commission in 2009 for starting negotiations on signing a bilateral agreement with Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia on association with EU. These agreements will be new practical tools to replace the bilateral action plans.
Azerbaijan is also included in the EU 'Eastern Partnership' programme adopted on the initiative of Poland and Sweden and approved at the EU summit in Brussels in 2008. The programme's aim is the rapprochement between the EU and Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Armenia, Moldova, Georgia and Belarus. It envisages a significant increase in the level of political interaction and large integration of former Soviet republics into the EU economy, increasing the volume of financial aid to them and strengthening energy security.
A visa facilitation agreement was signed between Azerbaijan and the EU at the Vilnius summit in November, 2013.
Translated by L.Z.
Edited by S.M.