EC/Azerbaijan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement

PURPOSE : to conclude the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States and the Republic of Azerbaijan. COMMUNITY MEASURE : Decision 1999/614/EC, ECSC, EURATOM of the Council and the Commission relating to the conclusion of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the Communities and the Republic of Azerbaijan. It relates to a mixed agreement covering sectors of national and Community competences. CONTENT : The Agreement is concluded for a period of 10 years. The Agreement establishes a political dialogue of the highest level. It includes measures relating to the trade of goods, employment conditions, the setting up and the activities of companies, the benefits of cross-border services, payments and capital, competition, protection of intellectual, industrial and commercial property, legal cooperation, economic, financial and cultural cooperation. In addition, the Agreements include respect for the democracy and human rights, cooperation in the field of prevention of illegal activities and the control of clandestine immigration. There is a conditional 'human rights' clause allowing the suspension of the Agreement, even unilaterally, in the case of violation of essentail elements of the Agreement, such as the respect for the democratic principles and human rights and the principles of the market economy. The Agreement will be managed by a triple structure : a Cooperation Council, a Cooperation Committee and a Parliamentary Cooperation Commission. The measures relating to customs cooperation are the subject of a seperate protocol. This Agreement replaces the 1989 Agreement on trade and commercial and economic cooperation between the European Communities and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. ENTRY INTO FORCE : 01.07.1999.�