Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

Most Azerbaijanis believe that Azerbaijan and the European Union have established good relations and have enough common values for effective cooperation, a European Neighborhood Barometer poll as of late 2012 said.

The European Neighborhood Barometer, which examines public opinion and media monitoring, is part of the EU-funded regional information program aimed at assessing the level of awareness and perception of the neighborhood policy, activities and programs of EU cooperation, the European Neighborhood Information Centre said on Thursday.

Over a half of the 1,000 respondents, who were surveyed in November-December 2012 -- 53 percent -- believe that the EU and Azerbaijan have good relations and only 20 percent think the opposite.

The ratio is more favorable than the average index for the East Region of the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI), with 45 percent and 29 percent, respectively, the poll said.

Some 51 percent of respondents believe that the EU and Azerbaijan have enough common values for fruitful cooperation, and 37 percent of those polled think that the EU is an important partner of the country.

According to the survey, the majority of the poll respondents want more EU involvement in democracy (59 percent) and human rights in the country (51 percent). Some 48 percent of respondents want the EU to be closely involved in such issues as economic development and trade (47 percent).

The poll showed that 39 percent of Azerbaijanis trust the EU. This is above the level of confidence in the United Nations (19 percent) and NATO (27 percent). The vast majority of respondents trust the government (92 percent) and the parliament (68 percent), as opposed to political parties (22 percent).

The Azerbaijanis participating in the poll are more satisfied with their lives than people in other regional countries, with 65 percent of respondents saying they like the way they live. The level of satisfaction is higher among young people and more educated respondents.

The respondents are also optimistic about their country's development with 48 percent believing that Azerbaijan is moving in the right direction; only 17 percent disagree.

The economic sentiment indicator is also high with 69 percent of respondents saying the economy is in a good shape -- compared to 25 percent in the ENPI East Region.

Some 60 percent are satisfied with the results of the democratic process in the country.

Development of EU-Azerbaijan relations

The EU and Azerbaijan are maintaining relations under the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which was signed in 1996 and came into force in 1999. Since then the PCA has provided the legal framework for EU-Azerbaijan bilateral relations in the areas of political dialogue, trade, investment, economic, legislative and cultural cooperation.

The five-year European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan for Azerbaijan, which was adopted in Brussels at the EU-Azerbaijan Cooperation Council in 2006, focuses especially on democratization, human rights, socio-economic reform, poverty alleviation, energy, conflicts and sectoral issues.

In 2009, the EU passed a decision to sanction negotiations on the conclusion of bilateral association agreements of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia with the organization. These agreements will be a new practical instrument to replace the bilateral action plans.

Currently, Azerbaijan and the EU discuss a number of issues. According to Head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan, Roland Kobia, progress in various fields between Azerbaijan and the EU was made at the plenary session on Association Agreement in Brussels in April.

Talks on visa facilitation and readmission, important issues for both Azerbaijani and EU citizens, which was discussed since March 2012, are currently underway with the EU, and four meetings on the issue have already taken place.

An agreement on the simplification of visa entry for citizens of Azerbaijan provides for a reduction of the list of documents submitted along with the visa application and the possibility of issuing multiple entry visas with a longer validity period. The agreement on readmission will develop a mechanism for repatriation of those residing in the EU and Azerbaijan without permission.