EU-Azerbaijan Cooperation Council Starts Following Gas Deal Agreement

The 18th EU-Azerbaijan Cooperation Council is taking place presently in Brussels, with the EU treading a fine line on interactions with the Caucasus nation.

• Chaired by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jayhun Bayramov and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the session is set to discuss, "the state of play and next steps of the EU- Azerbaijan bilateral relations, focusing on the EU-Azerbaijan Partnership Priorities and Sectoral cooperation, and the Eastern Partnership and the implementation of the Economic and Investment Plan. The Cooperation Council will then exchange views on political matters, including regional issues, democracy, rule of law and human rights."
• Only yesterday, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was in the Azerbaijani capital Baku signing off on a new gas supply deal for the EU. Agreed to deal that is set to see Azerbaijani gas exports to EU rise to at least 20 billion cubic meteres per year by 2027 (still a fraction of current 155bcm/year from Russia)
• However, the EU has previously criticised the gov't of President Ilham Aliyev for perceived crackdowns on democratic activities, but this may subside now following the signing of the LT deal.
• Could spark backlash from Russia, which could seek to offer more support to long-term Azerbaijani adversary Armenia.