Foreign

Home page

Foreign

EC Ambassador to Azerbaijan announces priorities of Eastern Partnership

26 November 2008 11:22 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Lachin Sultanovaâ€“APA. â€œInamâ€ Center for Pluralism and Azerbaijani National Committee for European Integration organized round table â€œAzerbaijan and the European Union: Effective cooperation mechanisms for integrationâ€ in Baku on November 26, APA reports. Head of delegation of the European Commission to Azerbaijan Ambassador Alan Vaddams made lecture â€œWhat promises the Eastern Partnership in the frames of European Neighborliness Policyâ€. He said work on the idea of Eastern partnership was continued and the document would be submitted to the Commissionâ€™s Council of Ministers next week. The diplomat said the Eastern Partnership would cover five countries â€“ Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and Armenia, and they were reviewing proposals about Belarus joining to the initiative. He said the Eastern Partnership didnâ€™t promise to these countries EU membership in future and added that Ukraine and Georgiaâ€™s accession seemed to be possible in the next 20 years and these countries applied for several times. Speaking about the priorities of the Eastern Partnership, Vaddams said they aimed to create visa free travel in the long-term and to set up Common Application Centers in such large cities like Baku. The moves include establishing a single deep and comprehensive Free Trade Area, providing the basis for the development of a common internal market, crisis management, joint trainings, migration policy, protection of environment, student exchange, energy and other cooperation.