BAKU SUN,
8, February 2008

Azerbaijan and European Union (EU) has reached an agreement to support the project of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline. Elmar Mammadyarov, the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister and Dmitri Rupel, the EU President stated on February 4 after the negotiations in Baku.

"The Trans-Caspian project is very important for the EU who supports alternative ways of supplying energy resources to Europe," Rupel said. We have already signed a memorandum of mutual understanding with Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan in this regard. We learned of Azerbaijan's position on the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline project during our negotiations in Baku," he said. "Azerbaijan is ready to cooperate with the EU on the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline and any Central Asia country can join it," the minister of foreign. Affairs of Azerbaijan said.

The Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline is a proposed submarine pipeline between Turkmenbashy in Turkmenistan, and Baku in Azerbaijan. By some proposals it will also include pipes between Tengiz Field in Kazakhstan , and Turkmenbasy. The aim of the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline project is the transportation of natural gas from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to the Central Europe, bypassing Russia.

The planned capacity of the pipeline is 30 billion cu.m (bcm) of natural gas per annum, and the estimated cost will be around US$ 5 billion. In Baku it will be connected with the South Caucasus Pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline), and through this with the planned Nabucco Pipeline (Caspian-Turkey-Bulgaria-Romania-Hungary-Austria pipeline). European Commission's Representation Opens in Baku.

The EU 'Threes' participated in the opening of the European Commission representation in Baku on February 4. The opening ceremony was attended by the EU Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, Benita Ferrero Waldner, EU Chairman Rupel, EU Special Representative for South Caucasus, Peter Semneby, as well as senior officials of Azerbaijan.

"The opening of the representation is the promise given by the Commission to Azerbaijan, and this will strengthen our relations," the EU Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, Benita Ferrero Waldner stated. She presented Alen Wadams as the unconfirmed head of the representation.

"The representation corresponds to the interests of Azerbaijan and will assist in realizing the Neighborhood Policy," the Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, Abid Sharifov, said. "Azerbaijan is an important country for the European Commission and this representation will help the citizens of the Country to know more about the European Union," the Foreign Minister of Slovenia, Dimitry Rupel, stated in the ceremony. Due to the opening of the Office, the Europe House which has been functioning in the country since 2002 will cease its activities in Azerbaijan and its functions will be transferred to the new representation.

The new representation of the European Commission plans to continue realizing trade and economic projects.

The 'Threes' delegation was received by the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, on February 4. Aliyev voiced his confidence the visit of the 'Threes' to the region will open new opportunities for the development of the cooperation. During the meeting, the sides exchanged views on the prospects of co-operation in various spheres between Azerbaijan and EU, as well as in the process of settling Armenian-Azerbaijani Mountainous Garabagh conflict.

"The EU follows the negotiation process directed at regulating the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan and any issue that has been solved between the countries inspire us," Dmitri Rupel, the Slovenian Foreign minister, stated on February 4. The EU excluded military methods as a settlement to the conflict. "Both countries should understand that the regulation of the conflict will lead to the development within the regions," Benita Ferero Valdner, EU Commissar on Foreign Relations, underlined.

The Commission is currently drafting the 2007 Progress Reports for all twelve partner countries having an ENP Action Plan. The Reports will be published in the next weeks and will give a brief but accurate overview of what has been done in the last months by Azerbaijan.

"The presence of a Commission Delegation in Baku will be very important because we will have the possibility to have a permanent dialogue with Azerbaijani authorities, media, associations and other diplomatic representations in Baku as well as monitoring financial and economic cooperation"- Waldner stated to Trend before her visit on February 2. Both the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, in force since 1999 and the ENP Action Plan adopted last year contain important references to a better protection of human rights, improving the situation of media and reforming the electoral legislation.

This would bring in line Azerbaijan's commitments taken with the EU, the Council of Europe and the OSCE.