Before Visiting Baku, They Voted for a Resolution Condemning Azerbaijan's Actions, Then Praised Baku

In February 2022, members of the European Parliament Engin Eroglu and Frank Bogovic voted in favor of a resolution condemning Azerbaijan's actions aimed at the destruction of Armenian cultural and historical heritage. However, after their visit to Azerbaijan, their criticism was replaced with praise for the dictatorship, reported the Blankspot journalistic platform, according to 1lurer.am.

Although the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry paid for the visit, the parliamentarians failed to declare the transparency report. According to legislation, accepting gifts worth more than 150 euros is prohibited, and if it is necessary to do so during a specific trip, the gift must be reported. Neither Bogovic nor Eroglu informed anyone about the trip or receiving gifts worth more than 150 euros.

“It is noteworthy that in Baku the deputies stayed at the Marriott hotel, which was paid for by the Azerbaijani authorities. The hotel belongs to the Aliyev’s Pasha Holding Group. The fact that everything during the trip except for airplane tickets was paid for by the Azerbaijani dictatorship did not hinder the parliamentarians, as they have not yet begun to receive uncomfortable questions,” the publication stated.

The main purpose of the delegation's visit was to tour Azerbaijan's so-called “smart villages” in the areas that Baku captured during the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Upon returning home, Frank Bogovic published a long and positive post about these “smart villages” on his blog. Two months after the trip, on November 19, Engin Eroglu made a post on his Facebook page highlighting that Azerbaijan is a good partner for gas imports, especially considering that “Russia has started an energy war against Europe.”

“At the same time, 20 percent of gas production in Azerbaijan and a significant portion of gas pipelines leading to the EU are owned by the Russian company Lukoil, and Azerbaijan may be importing gas from Russia to fulfill its export promises to the EU,” Blankspot concluded.