The National Action Plan within the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) is now in force, it was confirmed at the meeting of the EU-Azerbaijan Co-operation Council on 14 November in Brussels.
The ratification of the National Plan in the Parliament is not required, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Mahmud Mammadguliyev, informed Trend. According to him, at present the indicative program on ENP is being devised on the basis of which programs will be adopted for each year. The confirmation of the indicative program is planned to take place by the end of 2006.
The National Plan envisages co-operation of Azerbaijan with the European Union with regards to trade, investments, protection of human rights, democratization of the country, security and harmonization of the legislation with the European standards. Periodically reports will be prepared regarding the implementation of the program. All mechanisms which exist within the Agreement on partnership and co-operation between Azerbaijan and European Union will function, the Deputy Minster said.
The Action plan covers 7 years (2007-2013). The Action Plan will not be implemented only through the finance of European Union because it includes many obligations that should be fulfilled by the Azerbaijani side. Possibly the finance of other donors will be attracted in this process.
The budget of the 2007 program for Azerbaijan amounts to в'¬19 mln. Azerbaijan has received в'¬400 mln assistance since 1992 from the time of its co-operation with EU.