Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 21
By Elchin Mehdiyev – Trend:
The EU’s single position on all conflicts is important for Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammadguliyev told reporters in Baku Sept. 21.
He added that the agreement on strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and the EU reflects the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, inviolability of Azerbaijan’s borders.
Moreover, Mammadguliyev also touched upon the issue of preparation for the Eastern Partnership summit to be held in Brussels in November.
"The work which has been carried out for two years will be discussed at the summit,” he said. “We have something to say because we have achieved success over these years.”
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, the bilateral relations between the EU and Azerbaijan are regulated on the basis of agreement on partnership and cooperation, which was signed in 1996. A new agreement envisages the adjustment of Azerbaijan's legislation and procedures to the EU's most important international and trade norms and standards, which should lead to an improvement in the access of Azerbaijani goods to the EU markets.