17th meeting of EU-Azerbaijan Cooperation Council

The 17th Cooperation Council meeting between the European Union and the Republic of Azerbaijan

Rome [ENA] was held in Brussels on 18 December 2020.The Council was chaired by High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell. Azerbaijan was represented at the meeting by a delegation led by Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov. EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations Olivér Várhelyi also attended the meeting.

Azerbaijan started to build its relations with international organisations, including the European Union, under the presidency of Heydar Aliyev . While according to its Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), European Community has been providing “humanitarian, technical, food and emergency assistance” since 1991 (MFA Azerbaijan, 2016), Europe’s role in Azerbaijan and the region of South Caucasus was not particularly strong in the 1990s. Ilham Aliyev succeeded his father in 2003 as a new President of Azerbaijan.

Under his leadership, the country signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Partnership in the Field of Energy with the EU but also became part of the wider European Neighbourhood Policy as well as its eastern branch, Eastern Partnership2, thus deepening the cooperation and structuring it into four main Eastern Partnership Platforms: (1) Democracy, Good Governance and Stability; (2) Economic Cooperation and Convergence with EU Policies; (3) Energy Security; and (4) People to People Contact. At the meeting, the sides exchanged views on cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan since the last meeting of the Cooperation Council, hailing major achievements in this regard.

It was noted that despite the pandemic this year, trade relations were developing and the EU remained Azerbaijan's main trading partner. The sides discussed the strategic partnership in the field of energy, the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor, as well as transport and connectivity projects, Azerbaijan's great potential in this area, investment and other issues. The sides noted the importance of concluding a new comprehensive agreement, which will form the legal basis of relations between Azerbaijan and the EU, based on mutual respect and equal partnership. Minister Jeyhun Bayramov provided an insight into the latest situation in the region.

Another provocation by Armenia on September 27 this year, Azerbaijan's counter-offensive operations, the 44-day Patriotic War, as well as war crimes committed by Armenia during this period, purposeful targeting the Azerbaijani civilian population, the numerous facts that Azerbaijan possesses on transfer of foreign mercenaries by Armenia to the region and etc. were brought to the EU delegation’s attention. The EU delegation was briefed on the trilateral statement signed on November 10 and its implementation, the new framework for security and cooperation in the region created by the agreement. High Representative Josep Borrell stressed the importance of providing humanitarian assistance to people in need in the region and the EU's

readiness to provide assistance in this regard. The possibility of the EU's role in the post-conflict recovery and reconciliation phase was emphasized. During the meeting, the sides also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.