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European Parliament's newly-approved report is step in right direction: Amanda Paul

Commentary Materials 15 December 2017 16:59 (UTC +04:00)
The European Parliament's newly-approved report on the "Common Foreign and Security Policy" can be crucial for finding a long-anticipated solution for conflicts in Europe
European Parliament's newly-approved report is step in right direction: Amanda Paul

Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 15

By Gulgiz Muradova - Trend

The European Parliament's newly-approved report on the "Common Foreign and Security Policy" can be crucial for finding a long-anticipated solution for conflicts in Europe.

Amanda Paul, Senior Policy Analyst at European Policy Centre (EPC), regarded the newly signed document as a step in the right direction.

“It would be a positive development if the language used in this report was replicated in other EU documents related to the region,” she underscored.

Paul was commenting on the newly-approved "Common Foreign and Security Policy", which for the first time reaffirmed EU's commitments to support the territorial integrity of all Eastern Partnership countries within their internationally recognized borders.

“As far as I am aware it is the first time language regarding “internationally recognized borders” for all EaP states was included,” she added.

Paul stressed that the EU should only have one approach towards supporting the territorial integrity of the Eastern Partnership countries, but historically this has not always been the case.

Nevertheless, Paul believes that it is unlikely to see any change of approach from the EU in terms of its policy on the conflict resolution in the Eastern Partnership countries, especially on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"Historically EU-28 has had a policy based on supporting the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, and of maintaining a balanced approach towards Armenia and Azerbaijan. This is unlikely to change and neither is the conflict resolution process," she said.

Paul reminded that the EU has emphasized many times that it views resolution of the protracted conflicts in the EaP neighbourhood a priority but obviously this is easier said than done because nearly all these conflicts are nearly 30 years old.

"History has shown that the more time that passes the more difficult it become to resolve conflicts," she said.

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