In September 2005, the European Union’s Special Representative for the South Caucasus, Finnish diplomat Heikki Talvitie, acknowledged that negotiations on Armenia’s European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) Action Plan were being delayed “due to problems in Azerbaijan’s relations with one of the EU member states.”

Talvitie did not specify the EU member state, but it was clear that it was Cyprus. On August 29, 2005, a direct flight was made from Turkish Northern Cyprus to Azerbaijan, which transported to Baku the ex-president of Northern Cyprus Rauf Denktas and his son, Serdar Denktas, deputy prime minister and foreign minister of the unrecognized republic, who stated that “the purpose of our visit to Baku is to find ways to swiftly get out of the isolation regime as soon as possible.” In response, the Cypriot authorities vetoed the discussion of the Action Plan with Azerbaijan.

Heikki Talvitie said that when deciding to include three countries of the South Caucasus in the European Neighborhood Policy, the European Union was of the opinion that a “balanced policy” should be observed towards all countries of the region. The EU Special Representative expressed hope that the issues in relations between the “EU member state” and Azerbaijan would be solved by mid-October. If this did not happen, Talvitie did not rule out that the EU would pursue a more “differentiated policy” towards the countries of the South Caucasus.

Interestingly, a few days before, Finnish President Tarja Halonen visited Yerevan and said that the Armenian authorities “have done a great job for the preparation of the ENP Action Plan” and “have a very serious approach towards European integration.”

Dissatisfaction was expressed not only in Yerevan. Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili said: “We are at an important stage of negotiations on the Action Plan with the EU, but they are being dragged on, and we are, to put it mildly, not very satisfied with the way the process is going.”

In 2003, the countries of the region were denied involvement in the new EU initiative, then called Wider Europe. On October 1, 2003, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian spoke in Brussels following a meeting with EU leaders:

According to Oskanian, in this case “we will become less aggressive and less demanding,” “and conflict resolution will be in a completely different context, that will be more suitable for resolving the existing issues.”

In September of the same year, Armenian President Robert Kocharyan said:

“Armenia advocates for the European Union to develop and voice its stance on the South Caucasus. We want our region to be involved into the sphere of direct interests of the European Union.”

On their part, EU leaders have reasoned the position that guided them in denying the South Caucasus countries membership in the Wider Europe initiative in 2003.

“The EU has provided very significant support to the development of the region. Unfortunately, we have not yet seen the progress towards democracy and market economy as well as to peace, which we hoped. We have succeeded in promoting regional co-operation, but not to the extent to which our partners committed themselves, in the context of the entry into force of the Partnership and Co-operation Agreements. The comprehensive and lasting stabilisation of the region requires the firm will to achieve compromise. Only then will true regional co-operation be possible. There are still important steps to be taken,” Chris Patten, European Commissioner for External Relations, said in the exclusive interview to Mediamax in June 2003.

In early 2004, addressing the European Parliament, Chris Patten reaffirmed that the engagement of the South Caucasus countries in the European Neighborhood Policy largely depends on the commitment of Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan to the process of democratic transition.

Finally, in June 2004, the European Union decided to include Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan in the European Neighborhood Policy. Shortly before that, Robert Kocharyan noted that Armenia’s inclusion “will serve as a significant incentive to align the country’s legislation with European standards.”

Already in October 2004, Presidents Robert Kocharyan of Armenia and Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia discussed in Tbilisi the coordination of efforts of the two countries on cooperation with the EU within the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy.

“We want our cooperation with the EU within the framework of this new program to be comprehensive and not declarative,” the two presidents said. At the meeting with the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Nino Burjanadze, Robert Kocharyan said that Armenia and Georgia could set up a joint group of experts to develop a document on the priorities of the both countries within the framework of the EU’s European Neighborhood Policy.

“First of all, we should clarify for ourselves what exactly we want from the European Neighborhood Policy,” said Robert Kocharyan, noting that the EU itself has yet to finalize its proposals within the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy. “We can use this moment to more actively declare our expectations,” the Armenian President said.

In early March 2005, the European Commission released a report on Armenia outlining the fundamental directions for the Action Plan. Shortly thereafter, Robert Kocharyan convened a meeting with members of the Government to discuss the development of Armenia’s Action Plan.

Ara Tadevosyan