The relationships between Azerbaijan and the European Union (EU) will enter a new phase upon adoption of an Action Plan on New Neighborhood Policy, Alan Waddams, a European Commission Special Envoy in Azerbaijan, told Trend in an exclusive interview. He noted that the key objective of this policy is to bring closer Azerbaijan to Europe in terms of political, economic and legal values, as well as, assist in Azerbaijans gradual integration into the EU.
Waddams said that since its presence in Azerbaijan in 1998, Europa House has been involved in the implementation of different projects, directed at reforming economic, management, social spheres, in particular, the programmmes like TACIS, Extreme Assistance Program (EXAP), and Food Security Programmme.
The special envoy especially noted the TACIS programmme envisaging different technical assistance to CIS countries, including the transmission of know-how, experience in assisting by European experts. TACIS projects have been implemented for 10 years now and are nearing completion.