Azerbaijan stands apart among the six states of the Eastern Partnership. Armenia and Belarus have distanced themselves from the European Union and opted for rapprochement with Moscow, joining the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), a regional integration zone project led by Russia. For their part, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine see the Eastern Partnership as a stepping stone to membership in the European Union, while the latter is not at all ready to consider this degree of integration. Azerbaijan, on the other hand, is not putting pressure on the EU by demanding EU membership, but is very much in favor of extensive and diversified bilateral cooperation on an equal footing, with a win-win perspective.
While hydrocarbons constitute the bulk of Azerbaijan's exports to France, the activities of French companies in Azerbaijan are already diversified.
It should be noted that the diversified French presence is supported by the French state. Also, many reforms, some of which are still in progress, have begun to improve the business environment
The structure of the economic union is under construction. But already, the main lines can be highlighted.
First, there is the Ecofin Council. It is responsible for defining the policies for coordinating the general economic policies of France and Azerbaijan. It adopts recommendations inviting the 2 States to correct their deficit or imbalance.
Secondly, there is the Franco-Azerbaijani Council. Its main function is to give the ICC the necessary impetus for its development and to define its general political orientations. It can also adopt various political resolutions (not legally binding) or conclusions.
The activities are to come. They will of course be of an economic nature. Reports will be drawn up for this purpose. The main elements that will be discussed in these reports will be related to the world economic activity, inflation in the countries, the cost of raw materials and the interest rate.
