The EU is ready to enhance cooperation with Azerbaijan on all levels, but the government in Baku needs to improve respect for fundamental rights and bring election legislation into line, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle said December 9 after taking part in the Cooperation Council between Azerbaijan and the European Union in Brussels.
Speaking to journalists at a press conference afterward, he said: “We are glad to see Azerbaijan and the European Union moving closer to each other. Our cooperation is bearing fruit – just look at the results of the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius and the signature of the Visa Facilitation Agreement” – agreements that would boost people to people contacts.
“And we want to enhance this cooperation on all levels. The negotiations on the Association Agreement and a Strategic Modernization Partnership continue,’ said Füle, adding the EU would like to accelerate the pace of negotiations. He encouraged Azerbaijan to intensify its work towards the WTO accession, “which is a precondition to further advance our trade relations by eventually establishing a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area”.
At the same time, the Commissioner stressed that respect for fundamental freedoms was an essential element of relations. “We call on Azerbaijan to respect its international commitments in this regard. There is still a lot to be done in areas such as freedom of the media, freedom of assembly, freedom of association.”
And he added: “It is equally important to bring electoral legislation in line with the recommendations of the OSCE/ ODIHR. This needs to happen soon so that Azerbaijan can deliver fair and transparent municipal elections next year and parliamentary elections in 2015. There is also important work to be done to address corruption.”
Füle said Azerbaijan could count on EU support in all these areas. “We are committed to continue and to deepen our frank and open dialogue. We are committed to make our cooperation mutually enriching. We will be as ambitious as our partners are willing to be, and we will deliver to the extent to which our partners are able to deliver on reforms.” -0-
Politics
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On the evening of February 5, it was reported that journalist Shahnaz Beylargizi had been arrested. She had been a presenter on the Toplum TV channel for several years. After a criminal case was initiated against the channel in March 2024 and nearly all of its staff were arrested, Beylargizi was questioned multiple times. According to relatives, the police conducted a search of her apartment.
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By a presidential decree dated February 5, Mukhtar Babaev has been appointed the presidential representative for climate issues.
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On February 5, President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine. According to the document, the Ministry of Energy has been allocated 1 million US dollars to purchase and send electrical equipment, manufactured in Azerbaijan, to Ukraine.
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The trial of Aziz Orudjev, the head of the online publication Kanal-13, continued on February 5 at the Sabail District Court.
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