Head of EU Commission arrives in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 13 / Trend E.Ostapenko /

A delegation of the European Commission headed by President Jose Manuel Barroso has arrived in Baku. Barroso, accompanied by Commissioner for Energy Gunther Oettinger, is paying his first visit to Azerbaijan during his tenure as the European Commission president.

As previously reported, during the two-day visit, the European Commission delegation will sign agreements with the Azerbaijani side in various fields, including in the energy sector.

Barroso and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev are expected to sign a joint declaration on the establishment of the South Corridor, the EU Baku office reported earlier.

The sides will also agree a joint declaration on the EU's modernization partnership with Azerbaijan, which will promote political and economic reforms in the country.

Following the Baku visit, Barroso will pay a two-day visit to Ashgabat, where he will hold a meeting with Turkmen President Gurbangulu Berdimuhammedov to discuss the full scope of relations between the EU and the country.
Relations between the EU and Azerbaijan began in 1990 with the launch of the European Commission's support for CIS countries in the framework of the TACIS program.
The EU and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on partnership, which entered into force in 1999. The sides have also cooperated within the European Neighborhood Policy since 2003.
In May 2010, Azerbaijani-EU relations entered a new phase with a partnership within the framework of the EU Eastern Partnership Program initiated by Poland and Sweden.
The Eastern Partnership is aimed at the political and economic rapprochement of six post-Soviet states - Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus - and the EU. The program does not provide opportunities for EU membership, but involves facilitating the visa regime, energy cooperation and the introduction of free trade zones.