European Commission: 2013 was decisive year in EU-Azeri ties

“2013 was a decisive year in EU-Azerbaijani bilateral relations,” Azerbaijan's AzerTAc news agency reported, citing the European Commission ENP Country Progress Report 2013.

“The 2014 annual “Neighbourhood Package” consists of joint Communication (“Neighbourhood at the Crossroads”) and a set of country specific and regional reports.

The report on Azerbaijan underlines key/main developments and reform efforts in 2013 and makes recommendations for the year to come, according to the official website of the European Union.

Azerbaijan's participation in the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius, which coincided with the signing of the Visa Facilitation Agreement and the Mobility Partnership, underlined the potential to further develop EU/Azerbaijani relations.

Negotiations continued on the Association Agreement and on a Strategic Modernisation Partnership. On energy issues, the cooperation continued.

The Strategic Energy Partnership with Azerbaijan was strengthened; steps were taken in view of the construction of the Southern Gas Corridor which should reinforce the European energy security.”

The stalemate in the Minsk Process aiming at settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict continued for most of 2013, the report said.

However, the Presidents of the two countries reconvened in November 2013 for the first time since January 2012 in a summit in Vienna, mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, where they agreed to advance negotiations towards a peaceful settlement and to meet again in the months ahead.

An upsurge of violence along the line of contact was nevertheless witnessed early 2014, according to the report.

The EU continued to give its full support to the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in their work to facilitate a lasting settlement, the report underlines.

Azerbaijan took measures to fight corruption, following recommendations from the 2012 ENP Action Plan.

ANN.Az