Azerbaijan, Baku, 17 May / Trend, A. Akhundov /
Azerbaijan and the European Commission are continuing negotiations on an association agreement via video conference, Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammaddguliyev told Trend on Friday.
The last plenary meeting in the framework of negotiations was held in April this year.
"There is a definite headway, and we have reached an agreement on a number of issues. So far, there is much to discuss, so there is no specific date on holding the next plenary meeting. However, we will continue to work through video conferencing. When the time comes for the plenary session, we will hold it," Mammadguliyev said.
The Association Agreement covers four areas - political dialogue, including issues of security; justice and human rights; economic, social and humanitarian issues; and trade. Negotiations are conducted regarding all of these areas.
The last direction will create opportunities for the export of Azerbaijani goods to the EU countries. Azerbaijan has already enjoys duty-free concessions on export of several thousand types of products to the EU, but, unfortunately, at this point the quality of the goods remain the main problem.
Earlier Mammadguliyev said it is very important for Azerbaijan to prepare a quality document that covers all aspects of the country's long term cooperation activities with the EU. Thus, it is difficult to name any possible terms for signing the association agreement.
Relations between the EU and Azerbaijan are developing under the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which was signed in 1996 and came into force in 1999. However, the country's government does not intend to artificially extend the signature time of the Association agreement, as it will create a legal framework for further cooperation with the EU.
Negotiations on association membership were launched in July 2010.
The EU intends to sign an agreement separately with each of the South Caucasus nations; the content of these agreements will depend on their depth of cooperation with the EU. In addition, plans to sign a separate agreement on the simplification of visa regimes with EU countries exist.
On September 30, 2009, the foreign ministers of the three South Caucasus countries participated in the annual session of the European Council for Cooperation with the South Caucasus Countries in Brussels. At this meeting, a decision was made regarding the prospects of associate EU membership for the South Caucasus countries, which is the most effective stimulus for the conflict resolution and internal reforms in the region.