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European Union prepares progress report 2011 on Azerbaijan

29 February 2012 16:20 (UTC +04:00)

Answering the question â€œHow do you asses the progress of Azerbaijan within the neighborhood policy?â€ FÃ¼le said: â€œSuch a report will be for the first time prepared basing on the ew principle and criteria. Azerbaijan has achieved a great economic progress and is a strategic partner for the European Union in energy sphere. But at the same time the European Union is concerned over a number of challenges related to Azerbaijan. These challenges concern human rights and fundamental freedoms.â€

FÃ¼le said that they are also concerned over the problem of political prisoners in Azerbaijan: â€œThe European Union is interested in the cooperation with Azerbaijan basing on the universal values. But there are also several challenges here. We are ready to take extra steps to prevent these challenges.â€

Commissioner said in order to solve these problems, it is necessary to strengthen cooperation with the civil society.
â€œWe donâ€™t see Azerbaijan only as the energy centre, but at the same time we are ready to give support in the spheres of education and city infrastructure. We also understand some features of the region regarding Azerbaijan. One of them is Karabakh problem and the second concerns some neighboring countries.â€