Правові засади міжнародних відносин Європейського Союзу та Азербайджану: реалії та перспективи

The nature of legal support for international relations between the European Union and Azerbaijan in the current conditions and in modelling the prospects for its development is determined, taking into account the existing experience of Ukraine in this regard. The author analyses and outlines the legal nature of the regulatory framework for the formation and development of the EU’s foreign policy relations with the Republic of Azerbaijan. In particular, three levels of legal support for this activity are identified: universal international, regional international and national. It is noted that the current state of legal support for this cooperation is marked by the presence of contractual provisions within certain areas of activity. It is concluded that this issue requires a comprehensive study following the example of the model of legal support for international cooperation between Ukraine and the EU, where a strategic legislative framework with the content of foreign policy activities with a focus on European cooperation should be developed within the national Azerbaijani legal framework. The legal support for such activities in the following areas is noted: justice, freedom and security; economic and social reforms, poverty reduction and sustainable development; development of transport, energy and environment; establishment of direct contacts between people, training, healthcare reform, cultural cooperation. It is noted that the most promising and requiring appropriate legal support of a normative and law enforcement nature is the direction of implementation of international standards in the field of protection of human rights and freedoms developed by the EU. The author points out that, given the geographical location and geopolitical trends of the modern world, Azerbaijan seeks to develop relations with the EU in the economic, energy, logistics, judicial and human rights spheres, which will contribute to the development of appropriate legal support, including with the use of the ECHR case law. Attention is drawn to the limited cooperation of the considered subjects of international law in the interests of ensuring the state sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which mediates the creation of appropriate legal instruments for this purpose.