STEFAN FULE: "THE EU WILL AIM TO STEP UP ITS SUPPORT TO ONGOING PEACE EFFORTS ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH"

APA
April 28 2010
Azerbaijan

Baku. Victoria Dementieva – APA. The negotiating directives for
Association Agreements with the South Caucasus countries will be
presented for formal adoption at the Foreign Affairs Council on May
10, said Stefan Fule, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European
Neighbourhood Policy in his speech at the European Parliament where he
described results of his recent trips to the South Caucasus countries
and Ukraine.

"This will pave the way for the EU side to prepare for the launch
of negotiations. These Agreements will allow for close political
association between each of the partners in the South Caucasus and
the EU, building on common values and shared principles".

Sharing his impressions from the trips to the South Caucasus countries,
Stefan Fule noted that throughout his trip to the South Caucasus
he felt the presence of regional tension and the effects of armed
conflict which have so dramatically impacted on people’s lives.

He said he appreciated in particular the possibilities to speak to
internally displaced persons in Georgia and in Azerbaijan. "In my
meetings I conveyed that the EU’s overall goal for the region is a
stable, secure and prosperous South Caucasus".

Stefan Fule spoke about the importance of the Armenia-Turkey
normalisation process and said on Nagorno-Karabakh, the EU would aim
to step up its support to ongoing peace efforts.