Azerbaijan, EU to intensify negotiations on visa facilitation – commissioner

Negotiations on agreements on visa facilitation and readmission between Azerbaijan and European Union will be intensified next year with a view to an early conclusion, European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fule said Monday at a news conference after EU-Azerbaijan Cooperation Council.
According to the commissioner, within the energy cooperation between Azerbaijan and EU significant steps have been taken on the Southern Energy Corridor.
“The ratification by the Azerbaijani parliament of the agreements with Turkey on the construction and operation of the Transanatolian Pipeline (TANAP) is very welcome. We are expecting in the next months the final decision of the Shah Deniz consortium on the preferred EU route of the pipeline. On the Transcaspian Pipeline, we have confirmed with Minister Mammadyarov our joint commitment to work closely with Turkmenistan with a view to finalize our trilateral agreement, paving the path for the energy South Corridor”, Fule said.
TANAP project envisages construction of the pipeline from the eastern border of Turkey to the country’s western border to supply gas from Azerbaijani Shah Deniz gas field to Europe through Turkey. The initial capacity of the pipeline is expected to reach 16 billion cubic meters a year. About six billion cubic meters will be delivered to Turkey, and the rest – to Europe.
According to him, the negotiations on the association agreement between EU and Azerbaijan have gained strength in the last months.
However, said Fule, “we would like to accelerate the pace [of the negotiations] on certain issues.”
According to the official, democratic reform and the protection of human rights are an important element of cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan in the framework of the Eastern Partnership.
“We welcome progress made by Azerbaijan to fully respect its commitments towards the Council of Europe, the OSCE and the EU. It is equally important to bring electoral legislation in line with the recommendations of the OSCE/ODIHR”, he said.
Fule also congratulated Azerbaijan for having been chosen to host the first European Olympic Games in 2015.
According to him, the Games will be yet again a window to the world for Azerbaijan.
“But it will also be a window through which Europe will be looking not only at the sporting places but also at the country overall”, the commissioner said.
The talks, which were attended by the delegation led by Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, the Foreign Minister of current EU chair Cyprus, Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis and Commissioner Stefan Fule, were held in Brussels on Monday.