Proposition 51K2169

Projet de loi portant assentiment à l'Accord entre l'Union économique belgo-luxembourgeoise et le Gouvernement de la République d'Azerbaïdjan concernant l'encouragement et la protection réciproques des investissements, signé à Bruxelles le 18 mai 2004.

General information ¶

Submitted by

The Senate

Submission date

Oct. 20, 2005

Official page

Visit

Status

Adopted

Requirement

Simple

Subjects

Azerbaijan Belgo-Luxembourg Economic Union international agreement investment

Voting ¶

Voted to adopt

CD&V Vooruit LE PS | SP Open Vld N-VA MR FN VB

Abstained from voting

Ecolo

Contact form ¶

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Discussion ¶

Jan. 12, 2006 | Plenary session (Chamber of representatives)

Full source

Mr. Speaker, colleagues, first and foremost, I take this opportunity to congratulate Mr. Alfons Borginon on his new mandate as leader of our group.

I also take the opportunity that the draft law on the agreement to the Agreement on Mutual Promotion and Protection of Investments with Azerbaijan is discussed, to once again underline a call to the Belgian Government. I have done this before, especially with the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

I call on the Government to make use of the OSCE Presidency that Belgium will exercise in the course of 2006 to also pay special attention to the situation in Azerbaijan, in particular to enable a solution to the conflict that arose 14 years ago between Azerbaijan and Armenia, with regard to the highlands of Nagorno-Karabakh.

As Chairman of the Assembly of the Western European Union, I have had the opportunity to visit a refugee camp in Sabirabad, Azerbaijan, where the consequences of the war are still noticeable. We look forward to the initiatives that the Belgian government will take in the framework of its OSCE Presidency to finally find a solution to the conflict. Second, I refer to the ongoing gas war between Ukraine and Russia, which will undoubtedly have consequences for Europe. This war does not have immediate consequences for our country — we know that — but yet for the whole of Europe. The government in Ukraine has now fallen because Mrs. Timoshenko, the former prime minister, no longer supported the government. President Yushchenko is now in trouble.

However, the gas war could have long-term consequences for our country and for Western Europe. The importance of ⁇ ining and further developing good relations with the South Caucasus — with Azerbaijan but also with Turkey — should be emphasized for the strategic location. It is not just about the security situation in the region, but also about the energy supply.

Some of you will know that in three months the oil pipeline between Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, and Ceyhan in Turkey will be operational. The pipeline provides for the supply of about 1 million barrels of crude oil per day to the Mediterranean Sea. Given the ongoing gas war between Ukraine and Russia, it is of the utmost importance that we continue to maintain extremely good contacts with these countries. We must make these countries feel permanently that they too may have a European vocation, not only because of their historical and geographical background, but also for the reasons that are of great importance to our country and to Western Europe.

Mr. Speaker, colleagues, therefore, in the context of the discussion of the present bill, I would like to again make the call to the Belgian government, more specifically to Minister De Gucht, to work on the aforementioned points in 2006 as the OSCE President.