Algus

Welcome to the website of the European Parliament's Delegation for Relations with South Caucasus (DSCA). This regional Delegation serves the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Partnership Committee (PPC), the EU-Azerbaijan Parliamentary Cooperation Committee (PCC) and the EU-Georgia Parliamentary Association Committee (PAC). These three countries - Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia - are part of the EU's Eastern Neighbourhood policy. The parliamentary extension of our relations was established in bilateral agreements, concluded with Azerbaijan in 1999, Georgia in 2014 and Armenia in 2017.

As the elected Chair of the Delegation, I preside over our regular meetings and set the agenda for our inter-parliamentary work. The PPC, PCC and PAC meet, on a rotating basis, on the European Parliament's working places and on the premises of our partner countries' parliaments.

As an associated country, Georgia is undertaking ambitious work in implementing reforms. Armenia and Azerbaijan are also moving closer to Europe, its values and principles. A new EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) has been signed on the sidelines of the fifth Eastern Partnership Summit which took place in November 2017 in Brussels. Negotiations on a new comprehensive agreement were launched with Azerbaijan in February 2017 and are progressing well.

The EU continues to support international efforts to find a peaceful solution to the protracted conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Our hope is that further strengthened bilateral relations with the three Eastern Partners will contribute to conflict resolution especially for ordinary people living in the affected areas.

The South Caucasus may be far from the EU in purely geographical terms, but the region is close to our hearts and interests. The path towards European integration can enrich all of us, fostering economic opportunities, traditions, cultures, religions and historical heritage. I look forward to helping the DSCA delegation contribute to bringing the three Eastern Partners from the South Caucasus even closer to the EU.

Sajjad Karim