On Tuesday 18 April 2023, the Delegation of the European Union and the Council of Europe presented new projects to be carried out in Azerbaijan under the third phase of the EU/CoE “Partnership for Good Governance (PGG III)” programme in 2023-2027. The presentation was a part of the first Local Steering Committee meeting of this new PGG phase for Azerbaijan.
The new phase of the PGG has the total budget of 2.5 million euros for projects in Azerbaijan. The programme is co-funded by the EU and the Council of Europe and will aim at assisting Azerbaijani authorities with further strengthening institutional capacities to prevent and fight economic crime, at supporting judicial reforms in particular by fostering mediation, promoting equality and non-discrimination, advancing women’s access to justice and combating violence against women.
H.E. Mr. Peter Michalko, Ambassador of the European Union to Azerbaijan, said in his opening remarks: “The EU supports the PGG program that contributes to the good governance reforms which are at all levels fundamental to economic growth, political stability, and security.”
Ms Aysel Yagubova, Head of Department for Co-operation with International Human Rights Institutions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan said: “This initiative has the character of strengthening and completing the reforms implemented in Azerbaijan We believe that this program is also a successful example of co-operation between the EU and the Council of Europe.”
Mr Petr Sich, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Baku, who also spoke in the opening session informed the participants that a total of 21 projects will be implemented in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine under the PGG III programme. “Four projects are planned to be implemented in Azerbaijan. At the same time, Azerbaijan was invited to participate in three regional projects involving several countries.”.
Fruitful exchanges and discussions about the future co-operation took place during the meeting. Its conclusions will be used to adapt the PGG III activities in Azerbaijan.
The “Partnership for Good Governance” (PGG) is a joint initiative of the European Union and the Council of Europe for strengthening good governance in the Eastern Partnership region.
