Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

The European Union and Azerbaijan's government have signed a financial agreement for the allocation of 19.5 million euros to launch the Framework Programme in support of EU-Azerbaijan relations.

The agreement was inked by EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule and Azerbaijan's Economic Development Minister Shahin Mustafayev during a visit of an Azerbaijani delegation to Brussels, the European Commission's website said on August 29.

"The sides had a comprehensive discussion on political, economic and regional developments, and addressed joint priorities in the run-up to the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in November 2013," it said.

The third Eastern Partnership Summit is expected to be the final step in visa regime simplification between Azerbaijan and the EU. The simplified regulations will be applied immediately after the signing and enactment of the agreement.

Fule said, "We are at a critical moment of our relations: this year offers an opportunity for both the European Union and Azerbaijan. I emphasized the high ambitions which the EU retains for the development of our relations, as well as our continued readiness to give concrete support to core reforms such as those of public finance, education, regional development and justice, building on the excellent co-operation already achieved in the energy sector."

The parties agreed during the discussion that negotiations on the Association Agreement and the document on a strategic modernization partnership run in parallel and are complementary.

"The launch of this substantial program demonstrates the EU's long-term commitment to support modernization and reform in Azerbaijan, and to ensure the effective implementation of the commitments undertaken in our agreements, including the Association Agreement we are currently negotiating upon. We believe in a future relationship built around shared values, good governance, human rights and democracy," Fule said after the signing of the mentioned financial agreement.

According to Fule, the ultimate beneficiaries should be the citizens themselves.

"And this means we need a strengthened public administration, including in the regions, providing modern services and acting with sensitivity to critical cross-cutting issues such as environmental sustainability and gender. There is a lot of experience in these types of reforms in the European Union and we are confident that our assistance will bring a real added value," he said.

The EU and Azerbaijan are maintaining relations under the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which was signed in 1996 and went into effect 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. The negotiations on the Association Agreement started in July 2010.