Since independence in 1991, the Republic of Azerbaijan has set out the development of relations with European countries as its foreign policy priorities. Also the European Union has considered Azerbaijan as part of the European Neighborhood Policy, the Eastern Partnership and the Council of Europe. (Photo quoted from Yahoo’s image)
In fact, the Cooperation between Azerbaijan and the European Union includes extensive cooperation between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the European Union in the political, economic, trade, investment, cultural and legislative fields over the past few decades.
In recent years, the expansion of cooperation in the political, security and trade spheres has been considered by both sides. In fact, according to the agreements, Azerbaijan is a strategic energy partner for the European Union. The Caspian Sea's energy reserves and the role of the South Caucasus as a rich region reduce the EU's dependence on Persian Gulf oil and Russian gas resources. In the meantime, the European Union (Germany, Italy, Britain, Spain and France) has become the first trading partner of the Republic of Azerbaijan. However, there are significant challenges in relations between Baku and the European Union.
In fact, democracy and human rights, ensuring freedom of the media, freedom of expression and gatherings, and the importance of a suitable environment for civil society in Azerbaijan are among the key European issues for establishing relations and deepening friendly relations with Baku.
Although the European Union considers this to be an essential part of EU-Azerbaijan relations, it seems that Baku has not been able to go forward according to European standards.
In fact, in the eyes of many in Europe, the observance of human rights and the existence of a true democracy are preconditions for increasing cooperation with the Union. However, the issue of democracy and elections in the Republic of Azerbaijan is facing many problems and the reform process in the field of fighting corruption, freedom of elections, freedom of the media, etc., is not favorable for European countries. In other words, some governmental structures have become more democratic, but in many others, the old thinking has been preserved.
One of the biggest challenges is the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis. The conflict between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region remains the most important obstacle to the development and contribution to the stability of the entire region. In fact, the EU is closely following the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis through its special envoy and the Minsk Group.
According to the EU, while a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict could deepen bilateral relations and serve its interests, Baku is dissatisfied with the ambiguous European position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the EU's lack of support for Nagorno-Karabakh's accession to the Republic of Azerbaijan.
From this point of view, the presence of a large number of Armenian immigrants in European countries has led the Europeans to traditionally support the claims of Armenia.In the recent developments and the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, Baku and the European Union had many differences over issues like the state of war, ceasefire, recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh's independence, criticism of the formation of a booty park in Baku, exchange of prisoners of war and detainees, avoiding hostile and insulting slogans and so on.
In this regard, officials such as the President of Azerbaijan criticized the comments of French officials on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. What is clear is that despite the high level of security dialogue between the EU and Azerbaijan, the desire for economic and energy cooperation, important challenges such as the deepening of democratic and economic reforms, human rights, and the fear of a resumption of the Nagorno-Karabakh war have prevented the EU from accepting Azerbaijan as a reliable partner. In the meantime, issues such as ‘visa waiver negotiations’ and the pursuit of the Eastern Partnership have also faced more challenges.
Farzad Ramezani Bonesh
Senior Researcher and Analyst of International Affairs
