Azerbaijan, EU to sign agreement on easing visa rules in November
By Nigar Orujova
Azerbaijan and the European Union (EU) are preparing to sign an agreement on easing the visa regime in November, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammadguliyev said on May 17.
Mammadguliyev said that Azerbaijan and the EU intend to complete negotiations by late May and sign the agreement during the third summit of the Eastern Partnership program in Vilnius on November 28-29.
The last round of talks on the issue was held in Brussels on March 11-12.
"Perhaps, the next round of talks will not be held because the remaining issues can be resolved by modern technology," he said. "Basically, many issues have been resolved. One or two minor issues remain. We will resolve them in the near future. After some procedures are carried out, we plan to sign an agreement during the Vilnius summit in November."
He added that the simplified regime will take effect immediately after the agreement is signed.
EU's Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule said earlier in May that negotiations on visa facilitation between the EU and Azerbaijan are very close to completion.
Azerbaijan and the EU launched official negotiations on visa facilitation in March 2012 in Baku.
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, thus reducing the cost of visas or even making them free for particular categories, and envisions time limits for processing an application.
The agreement on readmission will develop a mechanism for repatriation of those residing in the EU and Azerbaijan without permission.
The EU and Azerbaijan are maintaining relations under the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which was signed in 1996 and came into force in 1999. 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.
Azerbaijan is also included in the EU's Eastern Partnership program, adopted at the initiative of Poland and Sweden and approved at the EU summit in Brussels in 2008. The Eastern Partnership is aimed at political and economic rapprochement of six post-Soviet states with the EU.