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Benita Ferrero-Waldner: EU does not regard Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway as a transport route having an inclusive and â€œregionalâ€ character

04 February 2008 13:14 (UTC +04:00)

- What is the main purpose of the EU Troika visit to the South Caucasus?
- The EU Troika will have a broad discussion with Azerbaijani authorities on issues of common interest, such as the implementation of the ENP Action Plan, human rights and elections, frozen conflicts in the region, regional cooperation and energy.
- What necessitates the opening of the EU Delegation in Azerbaijan?
- The Commission Delegation in Baku will be inaugurated during the EU Troika visit. We are confident that, thanks to the presence of a Commission office in Baku, we will be able to strengthen our relations with Azerbaijan and facilitate our contacts, including the implementation of assistance projects aimed at supporting the full implementation of the ENP Action Plan.
- Why doesnâ€™t the European Commission, which does not support the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project, make Armenia, the ENP country, set free the occupied territories of Azerbaijan?
-As regards the railway, the Commission has always stressed that it would support both politically and financially, transport routes having an inclusive and â€œregionalâ€ character. This does not seem to be the case of the Kars-Tbilisi-Baku railway, at the least for the time being. Concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Commission fully supports the efforts being made in the context of the OSCE Minsk Group to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. The Commission has been inviting both Armenia and Azerbaijan to participate in more regional cooperation initiatives, which can gradually build confidence between the two sides and facilitate the conclusion of a peace agreement.
- The EU was expected to cooperate with the GUAMâ€¦
- GUAM is a regional organisation with which the European Commission has relations and links and a certain amount of coordination is taking place.
-Is the EU support to Azerbaijan for WTO accession included in certain projects?
- The EU supports Azerbaijan in her accession bid to the WTO, through projects and dialogue. We hope that Azerbaijan will soon join the WTO, but this is a question of obtaining a consensus among WTO members and that is difficult to predict.
A WTO component has been included into the previous TACIS Project â€œSupport to Implementation of PCAâ€.
- How does the EU assess the Odessa-Brodi-Gdansk-Plotsk oil pipeline?
- The European Commission continues to support the Odessa-Brody-Plotsk project, including through a financial assistance which prepared a feasibility studies for the extension to Poland. Therefore we welcome that Azerbaijan and other countries are involved in this important project. In addition, the Azeri involvement through a joint project of a refinery to be located in Ukraine, will contribute to enhancing the energy supplies in this region and Azerbaijanâ€™s full participation in the EU energy market.
- Will the European Commission financially support the Trans-Caucasus oil and gas pipelines and the Nabucco project?
- The Trans-Caspian and Nabucco project continue to feature as priority projects for EU efforts to diversify our energy supplies. More generally, the European Commission is supportive of those pipeline projects that prove to be economically and environmentally viable. The extended mandate of the European Investment Bank, covering also south Caucasus countries, is now ready to finance also infrastructure projects as well as other financial institutions.
-Which measures does the EU take for peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, one of ten priorities of the Action Plan?
As I said, the EU fully supports the OSCE Minsk Group in its mediation efforts and urges both Armenia and Azerbaijan to find a rapid, peaceful and mutually acceptable agreement. What the Commission can do in this context is to help to improve the preconditions for the peace deal and the environment in which it should occur. Therefore, the Commission has been inviting both Armenia and Azerbaijan to participate in more regional cooperation initiatives, which can gradually build confidence between the two sides and facilitate the conclusion of a peace agreement. /APA/