European Union and South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia)

This paper will show the development of bilateral relations between theEuropean Union and the countries of South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijanand Georgia) through Partnership and Cooperation Agreements, the EuropeanNeighbourhood Policy and Eastern Partnership. The aim is to emphasizethe strategic importance of the South Caucasus for the EU and present keyissues which group of former Soviet republics faced from the beginnings oftheir independence. In order to successfully balance their national and political interests, historical connections and traditions, but also pressures from outside,foreign policy orientation of the South Caucasian countries revolves in a circle between Russia and the European Union. In the same time, these countries are facing many problems in their relationships - lack of bilateral and regional cooperation and frozen ethnic problems, which at any moment can turn into open conflicts. This paper aims to show how the European Union, from the collapse of the Soviet Union, through various policies and instruments, works towards stabilization of the eastern neighborhoods. The key security challenges in the South Caucasus region are performed from a review of bilateral relations between EU and Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.