Azerbaijan will be excluded from the EPP if it does not comply with the recommendations of the structure - an expert

Baku / 03.10.17 / Turan: The report of the Steering Committee of the Partnership Open Government (POG, Brussels-based structure, which was established under the auspices of the UN), "The updated recommendations for the Government of Azerbaijan" was prepared on the basis of the two-stage public consultation and last week was presented to the government Azerbaijan, Turan was told by an expert economist Gubad Ibadoglu. On May 4, 2016, at a meeting of the POG Steering Committee

It was decided to lower the status of Azerbaijan from a full-fledged member of the structure to an "inactive member of the initiative," that is, the observer country. In June 2017, Azerbaijan was given another year to remove the obstacles to the development of civil society. According to Ibadoglu, the government of Azerbaijan has a year to implement the recommendations that were submitted on September 25. If Azerbaijan wants to remain in this international structure, then it must implement the recommendations. The POG Steering Committee will evaluate the timely implementation of the recommendations one year later. In the event that recommendations are not implemented, the country can be excluded from the organization.

Along with civil society experts and representatives of pro-governmental NGOs, the recommendations were also included. In particular the proposed simplification of NGO registration and implementation of the on-line form, simplification of registration procedures and grants from foreign donors, and ideally even cancel the need for donor assistance. It is also recommended that major administrative fines for NGOs be abolished, and that obstacles to them be eliminated in the conduct of banking operations.

Ibadoglu considers that Azerbaijan should implement the recommendations, so as not to repeat the sad history with the release of the country from the International Transparency Initiative in the mining industry (EITI).

In his opinion, the implementation of recommendations is the last chance for the government to ensure that the country remains in the POG. -0-