“Azerbaijan is interested in developing relations with the European Union based on equal partnership. The EU is Azerbaijan’s largest trade and export partner. The legal basis of relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the European Union is defined by the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement signed in 1996 and entered into force in 1999. Negotiations on a new bilateral agreement between Azerbaijan and the EU began in 2017,” said Aykhan Hajizada, Head of the Press Service Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, in an interview with APA.
“In recent years, it is known that statements made against our country by former Vice-President of the European Union Josep Borrell and other officials, as well as the biased approaches of the European Parliament and other institutions, have negatively affected relations. Nevertheless, following the recent elections, there has been significant positive progress in the approach of the European Union leadership toward our country. High-level meetings and reciprocal visits contribute to the normalization of relations.”
On April 25 of current year, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission, Ms. Kaja Kallas, visited Baku and held high-level meetings,” the MFA spokesperson said.
Ayxan Hacızadə recalled that on May 16, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, participated in the 6th Summit of the European Political Community held in Tirana: “During the visit, a meeting took place between the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and the President of the European Council, António Costa, as well as the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. A next meeting with the same composition was held on October 2 in Copenhagen during the 7th Summit of the European Political Community.”
Azerbaijan actively participates in the events of the European Political Community. Moreover, according to an agreement, the 12th Summit of the European Political Community will be organized in Azerbaijan in 2028.”
According to Aykhan Hajizadeh, there are also a number of sectoral agreements regulating Azerbaijan-EU relations: “One of them is the Partnership Priorities document, which initially covered the years 2018–2020 and was later extended until the end of 2024. This covers the main areas of cooperation of mutual interest between Azerbaijan and the EU.
At present, there is a general agreement to launch negotiations on new Partnership Priorities and to resume talks on the draft of a new comprehensive Agreement.
On May 22, the next – 6th – meeting of the Azerbaijan-European Union Security Dialogue was held in Brussels with the participation of Hikmat Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration. The 3rd meeting of the Energy Dialogue between Azerbaijan and the European Union was held in Brussels on June 13, 2025. In addition, on October 9 of this year, the 2nd High-Level Transport Dialogue was held in Brussels.
One of the prospective directions of Azerbaijan-European Union relations is the development of bilateral relations with EU countries in a strategic format. Currently, Azerbaijan is a strategic partner of 10 European Union countries.
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