MEP Catarina Vieira calls on EU to reconsider ties with Azerbaijan for poor human rights record

Member of the European Parliament Catarina Vieira (Portugal) has warned the EU not to sacrifice its values for economic or energy interests while dealing with Azerbaijan.

Vieira delivered remarks at the European Parliament plenary session during debates of the motion for a resolution on “Unlawful detention and sham trials of Armenian hostages, including high-ranking political representatives from Nagorno-Karabakh, by Azerbaijan.” 

The MEP said that there is a deep human rights crisis in Azerbaijan because the Aliyev regime has imposed severe restrictions on freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, while the law enforcement system is targeting dissent. 

“The Armenians held in Baku are among the groups that have mostly suffered by this policy. There is widespread ill-treatment, while fair trials are illusions in Azerbaijan,” she said.

She expressed regret that the European Parliament is seemingly the only EU institution addressing the matter. “We can’t allow our relations with Azerbaijan to continue as usual and sacrifice our values for economic and energy interests,” she said, warning that it could make the EU vulnerable to blackmail. “Haven’t we learnt lessons from our past dependency on Russia? It is time to place human rights above cheap oil and gas,” the MEP said.