European Union Develops Cooperation With Azerbaijan, Armenia And Georgia

On Tuesday Luxemburg will host sessions of the cooperation councils of the European Union with Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. The sessions have been timed to the session of the EU Foreign Ministers' Council which opened on October 29. The EU Council's office reported that the three sessions will focus on bilateral relations, cooperation within the framework of the joint EU-Transcaucasia declaration and priorities of partnership in 2001-2002. In this connection, the EU council recalls that at the session held on June 22, 1999, the European Union and heads of state of the three Transcaucasian countries adopted a joint declaration which points to "common aspirations, commitments and values." The Luxemburg sessions of the cooperation councils "should once again confirm the importance of this declaration and give the European Union the opportunity to confirm its obligations of contributing to peace, stability and prosperity of the region, the EU Council's office pointed out.