Today, the correct construction of the foreign policy of any state in the global world is one of the most important factors in its future security and development. Especially when it comes to Eurasia.

At present, the interregional security systems formed after the Second World War are facing serious trials and challenges. Today, looking at the political and economic map of the world, we see that several geopolitical centers are actively involved in political processes in different parts of the world, and the relations of states with these axes in one form or another play an important role in shaping the future of peoples.

Over the past years, Azerbaijan has been able to build balanced and mutually beneficial relations with important and competing geopolitical centers such as Russia, the Anglo-Saxon and the European Union, providing for a cold-blooded and decades-long perspective in its foreign policy concept. Of course, one of these geopolitical axes is the European Union (EU), which for more than 70 years has managed to maintain its unique place in the events in Eurasia.

Over the past 30 years, the Republic of Azerbaijan has always been interested in cooperation with the European Union and the Western institutions surrounding it, and official Baku has implemented and continues to implement a number of important projects with the Old World as its most important political and economic partner. In partnership with the EU, such programs as TACIS, the Europe-Caucasus-Asia Transport Corridor (TRACECA), the Intergovernmental Program for the Transportation of Oil and Gas to Europe (INOGATE), the Humanitarian Aid Program (ECHO) and others have been implemented.

The Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which was signed in 1996 and entered into force in 1999, covers cooperation in the areas of political dialogue, trade, investment, legislation, science and culture. In 1998, the EU appointed its own special representative in Azerbaijan. In 2000, the Representation of Azerbaijan in the EU was established. In July 2003, the EU appointed a Special Representative for the South Caucasus. In 2004, Azerbaijan joined the European Neighborhood Policy, and in 2009, the Eastern Partnership program, a format of multilateral cooperation in the eastern direction.

Of course, in relations between the parties, official Baku has always demanded mutual observance of interests, and as a result, it has achieved its goals. Unlike other Eastern Partnership countries, our country pursued a pragmatic policy in relations with the EU, as a result of which political risks were minimized while maintaining a balance between geopolitical actors in the region. For example, unlike some countries, official Baku has formed the current bilateral relations, foreseeing future events and correctly calculating what contribution the Eastern Partnership will bring to our country and what contribution it will not bring.

As a result, Azerbaijan-EU relations are now more productive than many countries that are not members of the organization but are waiting at the gates of the Old World.

For the EU, Azerbaijan is of great strategic importance in the region, as well as within the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership. This is due to several reasons. First, Azerbaijan is implementing large-scale energy and transport projects with the EU and energy companies of the EU member states. Secondly, Azerbaijan is one of the key countries in the concept of the EU East-West transport corridor in terms of its transit position. Thirdly, Azerbaijan, pursuing an independent and sovereign policy, occupies a strategically important position.

The events of recent weeks around Ukraine have once again shown how important a partner our country is for Brussels. Recent dialogues and visits of leaders of important EU states with Azerbaijan have further increased Baku’s geopolitical weight in the region.

At present, one of the main aspirations of Europe is an even greater increase in the volume of gas imported from Azerbaijan, which is evidence of the special role of our country in the energy security of the continent.

It is no coincidence that the possibility of increasing the supply of Azerbaijani gas to Europe was discussed at the VIII Ministerial meeting of the Advisory Council of the Southern Gas Corridor on February 4 in the Gulustan Palace in Baku with the participation of President Ilham Aliyev. After the event, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Oliver Varhelyi issued a statement on the allocation of a financial package of 2 billion euros to Azerbaijan as part of an economic investment plan. At the same time, after the end of the 44-day war, the funds that were planned to be allocated to Azerbaijan and Armenia differed sharply. Commenting on such discrimination at that time, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, at a meeting with EU Council President Charles Michel, who was on a visit to the South Caucasus, said that it was important to eliminate this unfair approach. Finally, the unfair approach was eliminated and Brussels took important steps towards our country as part of its approach to the South Caucasus.

Oliver Varhely said at a joint press conference with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov that the EU can provide technical assistance in demining the territories, as well as in the process of delimitation and demarcation between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Undoubtedly, recent developments may accelerate the conclusion of a new cooperation agreement between Azerbaijan and the EU, which is currently under discussion. It is known that the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which formed the legal basis for relations between the two parties and entered into force in 1999, is already outdated, and the new agreement, which is being reviewed and developed at the present time, will lay the foundation for a new page in cooperation between the parties.

Of course, one of the important areas in relations between the EU and Azerbaijan is connected with geopolitical issues. For Baku, in relations with Brussels, as in relations with all other foreign partners, their position on Karabakh is especially important. It should be noted that the EU has repeatedly expressed support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and in the Joint Declaration adopted before the war, at the Eastern Partnership Summit in November 2017, support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan was once again expressed.

Despite the fact that the Armenian diaspora managed to achieve the adoption of anti-Azerbaijani declarations in the parliaments of some European countries after the war, after a while the deputies who took an unfair position with Armenian funding turned out to be powerless in the face of reality, and the insidious Armenian plans were rejected by the authorities of these countries.

Thus, starting from the summer of 2021, the EU recognized the restoration of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and accepted the theses of Baku. This happened after the meetings of the EU representatives with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev during their visits to the region. For example, during the reception of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania Bogdan Aurescu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria Alexander Schallenberg, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis and the delegation of the European Union, who arrived on a visit to Azerbaijan on the basis of the mandate of the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, President Ilham Aliyev, in his speech, expressed important views on the formation of a new EU vision of the region. Touching upon the current situation with Armenia, the President noted that “at present, we are in a state of post-conflict development. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has been settled. There is nothing to discuss in this regard.”

It is no coincidence that after this speech by the President, European delegations during their visits to other countries of the region after Baku did not use such expressions as the “Karabakh problem” and “negotiations”, which upset the Armenian and pro-Armenian groups.

On July 8, EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement O.Varkheli shared his opinion on the results of his visit to Azerbaijan. In these comments, posted on the official website of the European Commission, the commissioner noted that his visit gave a new impetus to the partnership between Azerbaijan and the EU. In particular, O.Varkheli said that a wide exchange of views was held on Karabakh and that plans for joint work and views on the post-conflict period of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were discussed with official Baku to eliminate the consequences of the war and establish long-term peace in the region.

Further, during the meeting of the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and the EU in Brussels in December 2021, the EU raised the issue of the fate of the missing Azerbaijanis with Armenia, without using the expressions “Minsk Group” and “Nagorno-Karabakh”, and the EU and France accepted the conditions of Baku, which, of course, added new shades to the bilateral agreement that is planned to be signed between Baku and the Old World.

It is known that Azerbaijan occupies a favorable geopolitical and geo-economic position between Europe and Asia, has transport communications connecting it through the Caspian Sea with Russia, Central Asia, Kazakhstan and Iran, road and rail transport with Georgia, the Black Sea region, Iran, Turkey (through Nakhchivan ), as well as with Russia and Armenia. The main economic factors of the EU’s interest in Azerbaijan are its trans-regional communication capabilities. For the West, long-term unhindered access to the rich energy resources of the Caspian Sea and Central Asia is impossible without Azerbaijan. Despite the clash of interests of a number of external forces and countries in the South Caucasus and the presence of conflicts in this region, Azerbaijan managed to maintain an independent foreign policy. This allows Azerbaijan to build relations with the EU countries based on the national interests of the country.

The new agreement, which is currently being negotiated, is completely different from the EU’s bilateral documents with other Eastern Partnership countries and will be a document containing important issues, covering areas that our country insists on as a matter of principle.

At a meeting with EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson on February 4, the President of Azerbaijan noted that cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan has entered a new phase, negotiations on a new agreement between Baku and Brussels are proceeding successfully and expressed hope that these negotiations will be completed in the near future.

At the same time, it should be noted that the EU and the World Bank have introduced another innovation in relations with Azerbaijan. The parties approved the agreement program on the Rapid Technical Assistance Instrument (AZTAF). Both the EU and the World Bank, on the basis of institutional reform projects and business initiatives to restore infrastructure and communications, manage logistics and market infrastructure, apply new technologies in the environment, transport and public administration systems, as well as in the field of business support, implemented in recent years with the Government of Azerbaijan, the parties have achieved significant results in the implementation of these projects. The current agreement is mainly aimed at promoting the construction of a new digital economy. The target range of the contractual program is quite wide, it affects the priorities of building a business society based on the post-oil economy, determining ways to improve socio-economic life. A wide range of priorities, such as improving the management of state enterprises and public procurement, digital development, inclusiveness, are in line with the principles of transparency and accountability aimed at by the Azerbaijani government.

Thus, in order to ensure maximum consideration of the interests of our country in relations with the EU, which is another global platform and one of the world’s largest political and economic centers, President Ilham Aliyev outlined the contours along which in the coming months and years many poles will act in accordance with the recommendations presented by Baku. realities on fundamental issues in the South Caucasus.

Source: Azeri-Press News Agency