Baku, Azerbaijan, April 17
By Leman Zeynalova, Maksim Tsurkov – Trend:
The next round of talks on the new partnership agreement between the European Union (EU) and Azerbaijan will be held in May, Kestutis Jankauskas, head of the EU delegation to Azerbaijan, told reported April 17.
“Currently we are in contact with Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on finalizing establishment of the dates,for the Brussels team to come to Baku for the next round of negotiations on the new agreement. I hope this will be probably happening in May,” he said.
Jankauskas noted that visits from the EU to Azerbaijan are expected soon, probably in May.
Regarding the aviation agreement, he said that EU is waiting for Azerbaijan’s response.
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.