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EU highlights need to sign aviation agreement with Azerbaijan

7 May 2019 13:05 (UTC+04:00)
EU highlights need to sign aviation agreement with Azerbaijan

By Mirsaid Ibrahimzade

Energy is the key element of cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan, but there are plenty of fields in which potential cooperation is possible.

Transportation sphere promises fruitful results and negotiations in this direction are underway.

“In order to expand cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU in the field of transportation, a relevant aviation agreement should be signed in the nearest future,” Kestutis Jankauskas, the EU Ambassador to Azerbaijan, told Trend.

He said that the aviation agreement is an integral part of the regional transport hub project, which is the next major project of Azerbaijan. This project is equally beneficial for both the EU and Azerbaijan, Jankauskas noted.

The ambassador added that a high-level dialogue on transportation with Azerbaijan began this year and it envisages different infrastructure projects.

Jankauskas stressed that the parties negotiate on a new agreement on strategic partnership between the EU and Azerbaijan.

“We had a series of video conferences after the last round of negotiations on trade issues. The work is underway. Everything possible must be done to ensure that the text is signed as soon as possible,” the EU ambassador noted.

Initiative of European Commission to create a common aviation area aims to open and integrate aviation markets. This will create new opportunities for consumers and operators, and, most importantly, high standards in terms of flight safety as well as air traffic management.

In November 2016, the European Council issued a mandate to the European Commission and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to conduct negotiations regarding a comprehensive agreement with Azerbaijan on behalf of the EU and its member states.

The new agreement should replace the 1996 partnership and cooperation agreement and should better take into account the objectives shared by the EU and Azerbaijan and the challenges facing them today. It will follow the principles endorsed in the 2015 review of the European Neighborhood Policy and offer a renewed basis for political dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan.

Currently, bilateral relations between the EU and Azerbaijan are regulated on the basis of an agreement on partnership and cooperation that was signed in 1996 and entered into force in 1999. The new agreement envisages the compliance of Azerbaijan’s legislation and policies with the EU’s most important international trade norms and standards, which should facilitate access of Azerbaijani goods to the EU markets.

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Mirsaid Ibrahimzade is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @MirsaidIbrahim1

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