Category: News

EurActive.com
Published: Thursday 3 March 2005 – 08:50
Ferrero-Waldner: 2005 will be “year of delivery” for Neighbourhood Policy
In Short:
Under the European Neighbourhood Policy process, the Commission has
recommended an intensification of relations with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt,
Georgia and Lebanon.
RELATED
The EU’s new neighbours
Background:
The EU has already negotiated action plans with Israel, Jordan, Moldova,
Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Tunisia and Ukraine. On 2 March, the
Commission adopted country reports on five more countries: Egypt, Lebanon
and the Southern Caucasus countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Based on these reports, the Commission has recommended an intensification of
relations.
The new country reports analyse and evaluate the political, economic and
institutional reforms in the five countries, opening up the prospect of
concluding action plans with them. The prospective three-year action plans
will detail specific measures and obligations on both sides for increased
co-operation. The five states are expected to have their action plans in
place by the end of 2005.
The EU’s Neighbourhood Policy is directed at a ring of countries. To date,
Israel, Jordan and Ukraine have signed their respective action plans, with
Morocco, Moldova, the Palestinian Authority and Tunisia set to follow suit.
Issues:
Azerbaijan:
The Commission is recommending a “significant intensification of relations”
with Azerbaijan. The country was included in the ENP process in June 2004,
based on an existing Partnership and Co-operation Agreement. The key
objectives for an action plan include:
strengthening the rule of law, democratic structures and pluralism
effective reforms of the judiciary and the law enforcement agencies
enhanced protection of human rights and press freedom
balanced economic development
Armenia:
Armenia, along with the two other Caucasus states, was taken on board in
June 2004 largely as a result of the “Rose Revolution” that took place in
Georgia in November 2003. The key objectives for an action plan include:
strengthening the rule of law, democratic structures and pluralism
strengthening respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms
enhanced economic development
effective reform of the systems of taxation and customs
increased fight against corruption and fraud
effective reduction of poverty
Georgia:
Georgia is seen by the EU as the most advanced nation in the region. It
hosts the only full Commission mission. A member of the ENP process since
June 2004, Georgia’s prospective action plan should aim to:
strengthen respect for the rule of law
enhance protection of human rights
strengthen democratic structures and pluralism
improve the business climate
reform the systems of taxation and customs
improve the transparency of the privatisation process
Egypt:
The EU already has an Association Agreement with Egypt. The ENP goes beyond
that agreement by offering the prospect of an “increasingly close
relationship” with the EU, “involving a significant degree of economic
integration and a deepening of political co-operation”. The key objectives
for an action plan include joint commitments:
for strengthening democracy and the rule of law
in the areas of foreign and security policy
closer economic co-operation
enhanced co-ordination in trade and internal market
Lebanon:
The entry into force of Lebanon’s Association Agreement with the EU is
imminent. The prospective action plan will set out priorities in two broad
areas:
strengthening democracy and the rule of law and enhancing foreign and
security policy co-operation
enhancing co-operation in economic and social development as well as trade
and internal market issues
Positions:
External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said that 2005 will
be “the year of delivery” for the European Neighbourhood Policy. “The
challenge for the EU and for our partners will be to turn the commitments
and aspirations […] into reality, through measurable reforms bringing
concrete benefits for our neighbouring countries and their citizens”.
Commission spokeswoman Françoise Le Bail said that the EU has “already
adopted a certain number of ‘country reports’ and ‘action plans’ for some
countries, we’re therefore now completing this action with the ‘country
reports’ on five countries. And it is on the these ‘country reports’ that
the ‘action plans – containing concrete measures for cooperation between
these countries and the EU – will be based.”
Latest & next steps:
The Neighbourhood Policy does not include a commitment by the EU to take any
of the beneficiary states on board. However, the ENP process could lead to a
near-complete integration in the EU’s single market
The Commission’s recommendations require the Council’s seal of approval
The prospective three-year action plans are expected to be concluded by the
end of 2005

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 3 2005
Paris meeting of Azeri, Armenian FMs adjourned

Baku, March 2, AssA-Irada
The Paris meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers Elmar
Mammadyarov and Vardan Oskanian, scheduled for Thursday, has been
postponed. This is due to the fact that Oskanian has caught pneumonia
and was recommended by doctors not to go to France, says Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.
The Azerbaijani Minister has met with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs
in Prague to discuss ways of settling the Upper Garabagh conflict.
The meeting was initially to be attended by Oskanian, but this did
not happen due to his poor health condition.*

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 3 2005
OSCE fact-finding mission’s report to be released mid-March
Baku, March 2, AssA-Irada
The OSCE fact-finding mission has submitted its final report on the
one-week monitoring it conducted in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan
to Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.
Mammadyarov said that he has fully studied the report, which will be
made public by March 16.
Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov has told Radio Liberty that the
report confirms the facts relating to the illegal settlement of
Armenians in Upper Garabagh and other occupied Azerbaijani
territories. The document is due to be submitted to the OSCE
Permanent Council in Vienna on March 17.*

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 3 2005
Ceasefire violations could be purposeful, says OSCE chairman’s envoy

Baku, March 2, AssA-Irada
Ceasefire violations on the Armenia-Azerbaijan frontline are
unacceptable and cause tensions in the region. Such instances
negatively affect peace talks and could be purposeful, the OSCE
chairman’s special envoy Anjey Kaspshik said, commenting on the
frequent ceasefire violations on the contact line of the Azeri and
Armenian troops.
Kaspshik said it was difficult to find out which side is responsible
for the ceasefire violations, as the sides blame each other for such
incidents. He added that he would prepare a report on the frontline
situation soon.*

Today, Azerbaijan
March 3 2005
Break in stability in frontline might be goal-directed – OSCE special
envoy

03 March 2005 [09:09] – Today.Az

Andjey Caspzyk, a personal envoy of the OSCE chairman-in-office is
concerned on frequent violations of cease-fire regime in the
Azerbaijani- Armenian frontline. “it is unaffordable and at any case
is directed at raising tension in the region,” Caspzyk told Trend.
According to Caspzyk, the violation of the stability in the
frontline makes a negative impact on the peace process and might be
goal-directed. The same time the OSCE representative does not posses
information on the side opening fire. “It is too difficult to define
who open fire. Both sides blame each other in it and such a scene
distracts the opinion from the real panorama,” Caspzyk regretted. At
present the OSCE special envoy is involved in developing a report on
the state in the front.
A while ago the OSCE Minsk group co-chairs appealed to the OSCE
chairman with request to prepare a report pf the special mission on
Nagorno-Karabakh. “My conclusion is ready. I hope the report to
yield effective ends,” Caspzyk noted. Touching upon the meetings of
the OSCE investigation group with the OSCE co-chairs, held in Czech
Republic on 28 February, he regarded it as rich. “The fact-finding
mission presented its report and the co-chairs stated their opinion
on the document,” he underscored.

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PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Forests NGO
38 Moscovian St., Apt. 10
Yerevan 375002, Armenia
Contact: Mher Sharoyan, Media Coordinator
Tel: (3741) 54-15-29
Fax: (3741) 58-20-39
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
1 March, 2005
NEWS RELEASE
Road to Desert continues…
Exhibition of photos “Road to Desert” opened at 2 PM on March 1, 2005 at
Yerevan-based Armenian Agriculture Academy’s Agronomy department. The
exhibition dedicated to the forests of Armenia was organized by joint
efforts of the “Armenian Forests” NGO and the mentioned department’s
Forestry chair.
The goal of the exhibition is to draw the attention of students and
particularly the future forestry experts to the situation in Armenian
forests, their protection and restoration, as well as stress the necessity
of stopping the illegal cutting of woods in Armenia. This display of photos
is the third in the series of exhibiting the “Road to Desert” throughout
Armenia since its launch in February 12, 2004.
The expo photos display both beautiful and green corners of Armenia, and the
destruction of forests and scenes of tree felling by the side of humans. The
photos were taken in the forests of Lori, Tavush and Syunik marzes.
The exhibition will be on till March 4, from 10 AM to 5 PM.

AzerNews Weekly, Azerbaijan
March 3 2005
Iranian parliament may discuss Khojaly massacre

The Iranian parliament may discuss the Khojaly massacre of
Azerbaijanis perpetrated by Armenians in 1992, the Iranian Ambassador
to Azerbaijan Afshar Suleymani told journalists on Monday.
Suleymani said that he had presented documents on the Khojaly tragedy
to the Iranian Foreign Ministry,
expressing confidence that the Ministry would express its position on
the issue shortly.
“Iran supports the territorial integrity and the position of
Azerbaijan within international organizations,” said Suleymani,
noting that no foreign forces can affect the relations between the
two countries.

Turkish Daily News
March 3 2005
Gündüz Aktan: The second biggest obstacle
Thursday, March 3, 2005
I have written on various occasions that I considered the liberal
intellectuals to be the biggest obstacle blocking our country’s path
to European Union membership. Their attitude is paradoxical. In the
past these intellectuals had a leftist vocation. Yet now they
advocate Turkish membership in the EU more vigorously than any other
group of people in the country. They are supported by big capital and
media. Like everybody else who wants EU membership, they too aim to
ensure the development of Turkey, a country with chronic problems,
via EU membership. However, their basic aim is to `tame’ the state
that had made them suffer in the past — by means of the radical
democracy to be built with the EU’s help.
This existentialist aspiration is very strong. In fact, it seems
there is no price these liberals would not be willing to pay in order
to ensure that we become an EU member. In Cyprus they supported the
Annan plan, including its initial version. And now they have a warm
reaction to Papadopoulos’ demand for recognition. Tomorrow they may
welcome the potential caprices of Greece, who is no longer willing to
take the Aegean conflicts to the International Court of Justice in
The Hague. They believe the demands the EU is making in the name of
minorities should be met in full. They have already started
indirectly accepting the Armenian genocide claims.
It is in the nature of foreign policy that such conflicts are in
the eye of great struggles and form the subject matter of tough
negotiations. If, in such cases, the views of the other side were
accepted with the `EU membership at any cost’ kind of mentality, the
other side would inevitably toughen their stance. The attitude of the
liberals, for whom no price is too high for EU membership, is the
most serious obstacle on the path to EU membership because that
stance is causing the other side to demand that Turkey pay the kind
of price that simply cannot be paid.
Let us assume that, miraculously, we have managed to overcome the
Cyprus and Aegean issues, the Armenian problem and the minorities
issue and that the technical talks with the EU have begun. This time
we will encounter an equally important obstacle, one we have not
thought about: the state of our bureaucracy.
Most of the work that must be done for EU membership falls on the
shoulders of the bureaucrats. They would be implementing the measures
called EU standards, measures that would extend into all segments of
our socioeconomic structure. And the judiciary would be resolving the
conflicts involving these standards. From this angle, selecting the
chief negotiator and conducting negotiations with the EU in the best
manner, seem lesser problems.
These standards evolved in countries over the centuries in
countries that are much more advanced than we are. It took centuries
of accumulated information and struggle to formulate these standards.
These standards would enable society to step into a new age, but how
would our bureaucracy and our judiciary manage to implement and check
these standards, which entail an extraordinary amount of cost for an
economy that is not yet fully developed? In the context of
criticizing the `state’ the liberals ignore this problem altogether.
It is true that in the course of the membership process that began
with the 1999 Helsinki summit we have received very little EU aid in
the form of grants. However, it is also true that we have not made
full use of EU facilities. This is because our bureaucracy does not
have the ability to prepare projects. That was a problem when we
entered into the customs union. Adequate capability has yet to be
created.
The prime minister often complains about the `bureaucratic
oligarchy.’ His complaints primarily involve the privatization
process. The main problem is that since we embraced the democratic
system, the bureaucratic positions have been filled and used in a
partisan manner. The current government has made mistakes of its own
in this regard. We have seen what the bureaucrats appointed have done
in such fields as rapid trains and energy. You can imagine the things
we haven’t seen.
Those suggesting bureaucratic reforms seem to be missing the basic
problem. No reform can be a substitute for improvement of the quality
of civil servants. The Japanese, who launched their modernization
drive in 1868, in the 1890s passed two laws that have basically
remained the same until now. One of the two laws in question bans
recruiting civil servants without an examination, and the other bans
politicians’ attempts to influence the bureaucracy. It is thanks to
these bureaucrats who are barely short of genius that the Japanese
economy has developed. The Japanese political class accepted as a
basic rule that politicians should not influence the work of these
bureaucrats. Over there, no abstract debates on the `state’ and the
`bureaucratic oligarchy’ have taken place.
Unless we, too, make a similar bureaucratic reform, albeit with a
two-century delay, we will not be able to enter the EU.
So, there is no reason for Sarkozy and Merkel to be worried.

ArmenPress
March 3 2005
VENICE COMMISSION AND OSCE/ODIHR VISIT ARMENIA TO DISCUSS PROGRESS OF
ELECTORAL LEGISLATION REFORM
YEREVAN, MARCH 3, ARMENPRESS: Representatives of the Council of
Europe’s Venice Commission and the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human
Rights have arrived today in Yerevan for a two-day visit in order to
discuss progress in the revision of Armenia’s electoral legislation,
based on the Joint Recommendations issued by the two organizations in
relation to the ongoing electoral reform in Armenia.
The visit is part of the co-operation program between the Council
of Europe and the Armenian authorities, in the framework of Armenia’s
monitoring procedure by the Committee of Ministers established after
its accession to the Council of Europe, and the follow-up of the
OSCE-ODIHR recommendations following the 2003 elections in Armenia.
The aim of the visit is to raise with the Armenian authorities and
experts on electoral matters the main points on which Armenia’s
electoral legislation and practice have yet to meet Council of Europe
standards and OSCE Commitments on democratic elections.

Opposition leader urges Armenia not to take US envoy’s remark at face value
Arminfo
2 Mar 05
YEREVAN
The statement by the US ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, that
Nagornyy Karabakh cannot be given back to Azerbaijan and that the
massacre of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey in the early 20th century can
be classified as genocide could have been made intentionally in order
to please the 1m-strong Armenian community of the USA and perhaps even
Armenia itself, the leader of the Democratic Party of Armenia, Aram
Sarkisyan, told Arminfo today.
He said the 1m-strong Armenian community of the USA is actively
involved in the country’s public and political life and of course it
is in the interests of the US administration to have its support. He
added that it would be wrong to take the ambassador’s statements at
face value or hope that the US policy to Armenia has changed.
Aram Sarkisyan said the ambassador’s statement only reflected his own
opinion, while Washington’s opinion has repeatedly been voiced by the
US State Department which recognizes Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity and refuses to see the developments of the early last
century in Ottoman Turkey as genocide.
“It is wrong to think on the basis of the ambassador’s statement that
the US position towards its strategic partner, Turkey, has changed,”
the DPA leader said.