The European Parliament chambers in Brussels, Belgium.
BRUSSELS—On July 4, the European Parliament listed the necessary conditions for establishing a new EU-Azerbaijan deal. Ensuring that core European Union values and rights are respected is one of the conditions for deepening EU-Azerbaijan relations, Members of the European Parliament said. Unless Azerbaijan fulfills these conditions — establishing democratic institutions, guaranteeing human rights to all its citizens, among many others — there will be no deal.
The European Parliament’s recommendation to negotiators working on the EU-Azerbaijan Comprehensive Agreement  — passed by 564 votes to 69, with 47 abstentions — calls on the Council, EU Commission and the EU foreign policy chief to:
- Ensure that the future agreement is ambitious and delivers tangible and concrete benefits to both sides, not only for large companies, but also for SMEs and citizens of the EU and of Azerbaijan;
- Ensure that the deepening of EU-Azerbaijan relations is conditional upon it upholding and respecting democracy, the rule of law, good governance, human rights and fundamental freedoms,
- Remind the Azerbaijani authorities that no comprehensive agreement will be ratified with a country that does not respect fundamental EU values and rights,
- Ensure, before the negotiations are concluded, that Azerbaijan releases its political prisoners and prisoners of conscience,
- Help Azerbaijan develop a strong framework to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms and ensure that it respects the right to freedom of peaceful assembly,
- Support reform of the judiciary aimed at ensuring its impartiality and independence from the executive,
- Put in place specific provisions to help Azerbaijan fight economic crime, including corruption, money laundering and tax evasion, and back investigations into laundering schemes, notably the “Laundromatâ€
