EU lauds progress in European Neighborhood Policy

Azerbaijan, Baku, June 25 /Trend E.Mehdiyev/ During a meeting between the foreign ministers of the European Union in Luxembourg on Monday, the EU lauded the progress in the new European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). European Council on Foreign Relations re-emphasized the strategic importance of the ENP and noted that progress in this direction should be welcomed, the EU website said on Monday. The Council welcomes the progress made in implementing the Eastern Partnership, and a road map that will be another impetus for its implementation, is said in a conclusion. The Council hopes that the road map will be approved at a regular meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Eastern Partnership. Relations between the EU and Azerbaijan are being carried out under the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement which was signed in 1996 and came into force in 1999. Relations between Azerbaijan and the EU entered a new phase in May 2008 - a partnership within the framework of the EU "Eastern Partnership", initiated by Poland and Sweden. The Eastern Partnership is aimed at the political and economic rapprochement of six post-Soviet states - Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus and the EU. The programme does not provide opportunities for EU membership, but involves facilitating the visa regime, energy cooperation and the introduction of free trade zones.