Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 29
By Anakhanum Hidayatova – Trend:
The new agreement between Azerbaijan and the European Union (EU) will enhance the partnership between the two sides, Paula Leal da Silva, Portuguese ambassador to Azerbaijan, said in an interview with Azernews.
“We attach great importance to a constructive EU-Azerbaijan relationship, and we approved the adoption by the European Council of a mandate for the European Commission to negotiate a comprehensive agreement with Azerbaijan,” said the ambassador.
“This new agreement will replace the existing Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and we hope will enhance the EU-Azerbaijan partnership so as to develop fully-fledged economic, trade and investment relations,” she added.
The European Council adopted a mandate for the European Commission and the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy to negotiate, on behalf of the EU and its member states, a comprehensive agreement with Azerbaijan in November 2016.
The new agreement should replace the 1996 partnership and cooperation agreement and should better take account of the shared objectives and challenges the EU and Azerbaijan face today.
The agreement will follow the principles endorsed in the 2015 review of the European Neighborhood Policy and offer a renewed basis for political dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan.
Currently, bilateral relations between the EU and Azerbaijan are regulated on the basis of an agreement on partnership and cooperation that was signed in 1996 and entered into force in 1999.
The new agreement envisages the compliance of Azerbaijan’s legislation and procedures with the EU’s most important international trade norms and standards, which should lead to the improvement of Azerbaijani goods’ access to the EU markets.
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