Azernews.Az

Challenges have emerged with establishing the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, a legislative body of the European Union’s Eastern Partnership program, says an Azerbaijani lawmaker, who attended a meeting of the taskforce dealing with the issue held on Thursday in Brussels.
Asaf Hajiyev said the problem concerned Belarus’ participation in the new organization. Thus, the EU has not recognized the outcomes of the latest parliamentary elections held in the country. Therefore, five representatives of Belarusian opposition had been invited to the meeting instead of the country’s legislators, given that no members of opposition parties are represented in the Belarusian parliament. Talks to resolve the problem are underway.
According to Hajiyev, Euronest is to comprise ten lawmakers from each of the six countries participating in the Eastern Partnership program, along with 60 members of the European Parliament, for a total of 120 members. The goal of setting up the assembly is to further expand cooperation between the EU and the participating nations.
The Eastern Partnership covers Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus. The program envisages simplified visa regulations, free trade and closer energy cooperation, but membership in the bloc is not on the agenda at this point. The participating countries are required to bring their laws into compliance with EU standards, pursue economic reforms and bolster democratic development.*