The EU must actively engage with Azerbaijan and hold it to its commitments: otherwise it risks being a tacit supporter of an autocracy

The EU is now trying to put democracy back into the heart of its foreign policy. Yet, the EU and its member states seem to have greater concern for their own energy interests than engaging with Azerbaijan’s near-autocratic regime. Jana Kobzova, Leila Alieva and Dan Kennedy call for the EU to pursue a “hug and hold” strategy with Azerbaijan –close engagement, complemented by holding the regime to its commitments to reform.