STRASBOURG, France (Public Radio of Armenia)—Heidi Hautala, Member of the European Parliament from Finland, and Victor Dolidze, member of the Georgian parliament, Co-Presidents of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, made a joint statement to express their deep regret over the decision of Azerbaijan’s parliament to begin proceedings on its withdrawal from the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly (PA), APA reports.

As of today, the decision was communicated to the European Parliament component of the Euronest  PA, said the statement.

“As soon as the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis [parliament] formally notifies both Co-Presidents, the Bureau of the Euronest PA will take stock of these developments in order to propose the appropriate measures ensuring the continuation of smooth functioning of the Euronest PA,” the statement said.

The Euronest PA remains the multilateral parliamentary dimension of the Eastern Partnership, the statement said, adding that as such, it will continue to function, in a spirit of integration and openness, in order to promote the necessary conditions to accelerate political and economic integration between the European Union and its Eastern European Partners.

According to the statement, participation in the Euronest PA remains, first and foremost, the voluntary and sovereign choice of each concerned Eastern Partner which fulfills the criteria.

“In this sense, we take note of and respect the decision of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis to withdraw. However, we believe that this development is unfortunate, and will also prevent Milli Majlis members from speaking their voice in joint parliamentary proceedings of evident importance for the region. The Constituent Act of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly provides for a year’s notice before any withdrawal becomes effective: within this period, we reiterate our availability to openly discuss with the Milli Majlis the situation,” said the statement.