Today.Az » Politics » "European Union sees Azerbaijan as a country that can help Europe to diversify its energy supplies"
09 December 2009 [09:35] - Today.Az
Interview with Roland Kobia, Head of European Commission Delegation in Azerbaijan.
What are the European Union's priorities in Azerbaijan for 2010? Do you expect more activity in cooperation under the EU Eastern Partnership program?
The priority for the European Union will be to continue strengthening ties with Azerbaijan at various levels. The Eastern Partnership will allow us to do that through a substantial upgrading and deepening of our mutual relations. The Eastern Partnership provides a stronger form of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the European Union, and will generate more activity at political, energy, trade, cooperation and governance levels amongst others. The European Union has committed to give political and economic support to transition, reforms and modernization in Azerbaijan. Therefore, the Eastern partnership has a strong transformational potential.
The Eastern Partnerships, which Azerbaijan and 5 other countries of the European Union's Eastern neighborhood have agreed upon in May 2009 at the level of Heads of States and Government, will allow for broader and in depth collaboration between Azerbaijan and the European Union. The Partnership is first of all a shared commitment to promote reforms in key areas and to accompany Azerbaijan's march towards European values. There are many concrete prospects, like the possibility of an Association Agreement with the EU, a comprehensive free trade agreement, visa facilitation and enhanced interaction with the EU in general. With the Eastern Partnership we propose to our neighbors a closer integration with the EU for the mutual benefit of the EU and of the participating countries. There is a lot to benefit from for Azerbaijan of course: more trade, easier traveling to EU, more exchange at all levels (education, training, research etc).
In terms of cooperation, we indeed expect more. Our efforts to support Azerbaijan will continue in key areas such as energy, justice, democratization, agriculture and rural development. There will also be institution building to support the reform of key institutions and move towards approximation of Azerbaijani rules and laws with EU legal framework and principles. This will come with financial assistance, which we will discuss with the government to identify together where assistance is most required.
Is it possible to talk about the approximate date of signing of the Association Agreements with the members of Eastern Partnership Program?
The final date of signature of the agreements is of course not yet known at this stage. There needs to be a negotiation phase beforehand, the length of which depends on various factors. The negotiating mandate is being finalized at the EU level and we hope to get it approved in the course of 2010. Once we have the mandate we can start the negotiations with Azerbaijan.
Is it planned to sign the Association Agreement with each partner countries individually or with all the Eastern Partnership countries at once?
The EU wants to enter into negotiations will all six countries of the Eastern Partnerships, but the pace will depend on each country. Each country is unique and the process will allow for the specific conditions of the negotiation to be taken into account with each and every country. The negotiations and hence the final signature of an agreement will depend on the stage of preparation of any given country and of its capacity to take the necessary steps towards that common aim. We very much hope that the negotiations and the final conclusion of the agreements with Azerbaijan will be as swift as possible, and we count on Azerbaijan's help and efforts to prepare the relevant context therefore.
So, even if I do not have a crystal bowl, I do not expect there will be conclusions for the Association agreements with all the countries of the Eastern partnership on the same day. That would be somehow unfair as countries which are ready would have to wait for those which are not ready yet. I reckon that everyone will go at its own pace. In this scenario, experience can be gained from each others and from previous round of negotiations. In this sense, it is not a problem not to be the first one.
Eastern Partnership program envisages facilitating visa program with EU partner countries. Are there any plans to hold relevant talks in the nearest future? What would be the EU recommendations to the Azerbaijani government in terms of unification of legislations?
As I said above, making travel to the EU easier for Azerbaijani citizens is a key issue, and an important expectation. We are aware of that. It is to facilitate movement of people to the European Union because the EU is not only a political and economic Union, but a Union of people. Therefore, the Eastern Partnerships foresee the prospect of negotiation of visa facilitation/ re-admission agreements, with a long-term goal of visa-free travelling to the European Union when the conditions will enable that. So, indeed, there will be talks regarding visa facilitation and more generally migration issues such as security and reliability of travel documents, border verifications etc. The European Union is ready to help Azerbaijan meeting the conditions as quickly as possible. These are technical issues to be considered, but they are important for the long-term sustainability of the system.
Regarding the approximation of the legislation, the European Commission is present in the country and the services of the Commission in Brussels are there in order to help Azerbaijan in implementing the reforms. It is a joint process. We are not just throwing the ball in your camp as this is a game we are playing together on the same pitch. If Azerbaijan needs any help, support or advice, we will be there to assist the country in putting needed reforms in place.
Presently, European Union is at a turning point at present. The structure is changing. Could the establishment of the position of EU Foreign Minister increase the EU role in resolving conflicts, including the territorial conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh?
On the Nagorno-Karabakh question, the European Union has since the early nineties made its position clear through numerous political declarations. We recognize and understand that this is an extremely important issue for Azerbaijan and we want this sad situation to be settled peacefully.
The European Union has continuously supported the efforts of the Minsk Group, as the European Union is not directly involved per se in the settlement of the conflict. We have one EU member state in the Minsk Group. This is very important. What we see from the last months is encouraging, even if a lot remains to be done. We should not be over optimistic and keep focused, but the fact that the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia have met six times this year - an intensity that had never been seen before - is a positive sign. Dialogue is always good, even if patience is needed. With the EU Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force on December 1st, the new architecture created will bring more stability in the EU counterparts Azerbaijan meets. And in that sense it is going to be a very good thing for Azerbaijan and for other countries. We had a system of rotating presidencies (the Presidency of the EU used to change every six months). It was a good system, but we also understand the difficulty it posed for certain countries which regularly had to deal with different EU actors. I believe that the new system should give more coherence. It should give a stronger Europe and give Azerbaijan an easier understanding on how the Europe functions.
It is too early to say if this new scenario will give us more tools to intervene in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but the EU will surely continue to follow this matter closely, and be ready to help at any given time if there is a wish from the main parties involved.
I trust that the new EU High representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security policy, Lady Ashton, will surely continue the work. It is however too early to say whether the EU's new architecture will enable it to play a more important role in the future as it does not depend only on the EU but also on the partners involved at this stage, both in Azerbaijan, in Armenia and in the Minsk Group. The European Union has already offered to assist with confidence building measures - to help people on both sides to be able to live together again and contribute to a peaceful solution of the conflict. We certainly hope that our efforts will be accepted both by Armenia and by Azerbaijan in the soon future. The European Union stands ready to put important means to ensure that the political decision can be implemented on the ground, which is a crucial aspect of the success of any lasting peace agreement.
Do you believe that the new Foreign Minister of the EU could manage the job well despite a bit of lack in diplomatic experience?
It is very important to look at the quality of people. The precise experience relevant to a given job is not the only point to be taken into account. Some people have been for a very long time in a job and they are still not doing very well. But when people are smart and adaptable, and even if they have less experience than others in a specific field, they can learn fast and come with fresh eyes to perform even better. On top, Lady Ashton has held numerous and diverse public positions in the UK. She also has international experience, as she has been a Trade Commissioner until the December 1st. This is an extremely difficult portfolio where you need both a lot of diplomatic skills for the negotiations on trade issues and a lot of technical skills. And we are very confident that she will be a very good High Representative and Vice President of the Commission. Finally, I think it was a good signal that Europe sent to the rest of the world that among the three top jobs in the EU (the President of the Council, the President of the Commission and the High Representative/Vice President of the Commission) one is a woman.
Azerbaijan has prepared a program titled "Great repatriation", which envisages repatriation of IDPs to the Armenian-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh area and seven surrounding districts of Azerbaijan. What is the progress in the negotiations on implementation of the program worth roughly $60 billion?
The program is an initiative of the Government of Azerbaijan and it is legitimate that the Government considers the practical modalities of the post-conflict situation. The EU stands ready to consider its possible support to all actions launched by the government which promote a peaceful settlement of the conflict and are helpful to the populations which have suffered. But first, we need to ensure that there is progress to resolve the conflict and to reach an agreement that will be satisfactory to both parties. For the implementation phase, the EU has already stated its readiness to assist both governments.
What is the role of the Caspian region, particularly Azerbaijan, in diversification of energy supplies to Europe? What is the significance of the Southern Corridor project for Europe? Which of the projects within the Southern Corridor have more chances to succeed?
The European Union sees Azerbaijan as a country that can help Europe to diversify its energy supplies. Azerbaijan moreover sits in the middle of an energy-rich region, between Central Asia and the Middle East. After all, and this is the beauty of the region from an energy perspective, the potential of the wider region is immense and provides with many opportunities to develop strong ties with Europe. It also fits with Azerbaijan's interest in the EU consumer markets as it wants to diversify its export markets.
So when you have energy to sell, you indeed need solid consumer markets. Europe offers suppliers a 500-million people strong market, with perhaps the highest degree of commercial predictability, political stability and financial solvency. The European Union is surely one of the most attractive consumer markets for any country in the world willing to sell its gas in a safe and long-term environment. So, the energy relationship between Azerbaijan and the EU will be one of mutual interest, of inter-dependence, and a win-win game.
The Southern Corridor is part of the overall strategy of the EU to diversify its source of gas to ensure its long term energy security. There are, as you know, several initiatives being worked on concomitantly (Nabucco, ITGI, TAP…), and the European Union is always happy to see competition. But we could imagine more synergies and convergence between them. Regarding the various Southern Corridor projects, the European Commission has been supporting Nabucco since the initial phase as it would eventually bring important volumes of gas. It is a project which is strongly supported by all countries involved and that has made very important progress this year, both at political, commercial and technical levels. Also International Financial Institutions such as the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development have declared their support to Nabucco.
I recall the 2009 Summits of Budapest and Prague notably, as well as the signing at Heads of States level of the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) on Nabucco in July 2009 in Ankara, which provides for concrete provisions (transit tariffs, legal issues…). The ratification of the IGA should be completed by all signatories very soon, maybe already in December 2009. The Project Support Agreements can be concluded. The final investment decision on Shakh-Deniz 2 is extremely important and it needs to be done very quickly. Europe should have access to these energy supplies, and Azerbaijan should be able to sell them without delay. Again, Europe is a good market for Azerbaijan because of its 500 million inhabitants. It is a huge and very predictable market, politically stable. You are sure that your gas will be sold in a long-term without any unforeseen problems, as you may have had in the past.
Nabucco is however not exclusive of other projects if these are commercially sound and if they eventually can bring important amounts of gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe. Europe will need gas, and all routes bringing new gas will no doubt be welcomed on the European market. Finally, as far as transit is concerned, the European Union has clearly favored the Turkish corridor, and continues to do so. We understand that commercial negotiations are important for both Azerbaijan and Turkey, and that time is needed. However, the EU feels that the situation is now ripe and mature for a final decision, which would allow the next steps of the process to move forward. We are however aware of the fact that some alternatives are studied in case the outstanding discussions between Azerbaijan and Turkey would not be concluded in a satisfactory way. We need to remain pragmatic as dogmatism leads nowhere in this type of context. The gas route to Europe for Caspian gas is ready to be opened, and it is in the interest of all, suppliers, consumers and transit countries to make it happen.
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