Human Rights Must Be Prioritized Over Oil and Gas, Says EU Lawmaker to Azerbaijan

The European Union cannot allow its relations with Azerbaijan to continue as usual and sacrifice European values for economic and energy interests. This was stated by Catarina Vieira, a Member of the European Parliament representing Portugal.

According to the lawmaker, there is a deep crisis of human rights in Azerbaijan, as the government has imposed severe restrictions on freedom of speech, assembly, and association, and has armed the law enforcement system against its critics.

“Armenians held in Baku are among the groups that have suffered the most from this government’s policies. The brutal treatment is widespread, while fair trials have become an illusion in Azerbaijan,” emphasized the lawmaker.

She considered it positive that the European Parliament consistently addresses this situation.

“Unfortunately, it seems that the European Parliament is the only EU institution doing this. We cannot allow relations with Azerbaijan to continue as usual and sacrifice our values for economic and energy interests. This is not only hypocrisy but also creates dependency, making us vulnerable to blackmail. Have we not learned lessons from our previous dependency on Russia? We must prioritize human rights over cheap oil and gas,” said Vieira.