"The problem is official Baku"

When Antonio Costa, the president of the European Council, arrived in Azerbaijan’s capital on March 11, his visit carried the symbolism of a partnership that has steadily grown more important to both sides — and more complicated.

Azerbaijan’s economic relationship with the European Union has deepened into one of the most strategically significant pillars of the country’s foreign economic policy, as energy exports, trade flows and investment ties continue to expand against the backdrop of Europe’s search for diversified energy supplies.

At a committee meeting in Baku on Monday, lawmakers agreed to advance a bill ratifying the Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking in Human Organs, paving the way for a parliamentary vote on February 20. The decision, technical at first glance, offers a revealing insight into the shifting — and increasingly pragmatic — relationship between Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe.

When Ilham Aliyev stepped onto the tarmac in Belgrade in mid-February, greeted by Aleksandar Vučić with full military honours, the picture looked familiar. What mattered was not the ceremony but the subtext: Serbia and Azerbaijan are building something more durable than diplomatic symbolism — an energy-centred partnership that could subtly alter the economic map of the Balkans.