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By Trend

The upcoming Eastern Partnership Summit to be held in Brussels will inject new dynamism into relations between the European Union and Azerbaijan, Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, said in an interview with Trend.

He pointed out that being at the crossroads between Asia and Europe, Azerbaijan can play an important role in bringing the two continents together.

In particular, he mentioned the importance of the recently commissioned Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway in enhancing connectivity between Europe and Asia.

“I was pleased to see the inauguration just a few weeks ago of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which has the potential to provide better connectivity, new business opportunities and also increased trade between the EU and Asia,” said the commissioner.

Hahn went on to add that Azerbaijan is also EU’s strategic partner in the energy area, best demonstrated by the ambitious Southern Gas Corridor project.

The EU is also supporting Azerbaijan’s efforts to diversify its economy, particularly in the areas of education as well as regional and rural development, he added.

Progress in the area of democratic reform and civil society participation is at the core of the Eastern Partnership, said the EU commissioner, adding that strengthening of rule of law, fundamental rights and democratic institutions is in the long term interest of Azerbaijan.

“On our bilateral relations, we are negotiating a comprehensive new agreement with Azerbaijan to replace the 1996 Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and better take account of the shared objectives and challenges the EU and Azerbaijan face today, offering a renewed basis for political dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan,” said Hahn.

Talking about his expectations from the Eastern Partnership Summit, where Azerbaijan will also be represented, he noted that the Summit is an opportunity to build on the achievements to-date and also to inject new dynamism into the partnership, through focusing on issues on which the European Union and partner countries can advance together.

The Summit will show the strong commitment of the European Union and the partner countries to the Eastern Partnership and show that the initiative is delivering and will continue to deliver tangible results to citizens in a visible manner, according to the commissioner.

In this respect, the EaP architecture will be streamlined to ensure an efficient delivery mechanism, he added.

“To really focus on what we can collectively deliver, we have developed a vision of "20 deliverables for 2020", which will bring results across each of the four priority areas identified at the last Summit in Riga: economic development and market opportunities; strengthening institutions and good governance; connectivity, energy efficiency, environment and climate change; mobility and people-to-people contacts. We have made progress in all of these areas,” said Hahn.

The commissioner recalled that the Eastern Partnership initiative was launched in 2009 with the main focus on regional cooperation in the EU’s eastern neighborhood.

“Since then, the Eastern Partnership has evolved; the substance of the policy has broadened, deepened and been adapted to changing realities. We need to focus on implementation of what we have set out to achieve,” he said. “The Eastern Partnership needs to be ambitious, realistic and credible, meaning that we have to embrace differentiation, different levels of engagement, and various priorities. The results of the Eastern Partnership have to date showed that we are stronger by working together.”

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