Who's next?

Over the last few years the EU has been driving its foriegn policy through the use of acess to visas. According to the Foriegn Policy Centre's Mark Leonard in the Sunday Times (£) last week, this is an example of the EU using it's soft power.

To that end we have had the spectacle of the EU overuling the UK government on immigration over India, and Moldova, and Serbia and Ukraine and so on.

N ext up I suspect may well be Azerbaijan. No seriously, despite the fact that most people couldn't place it on a map this suggests that they are indeed next.

The European Union may make a decision to launch negotiations with Azerbaijan on visa regime facilitation and readmission next months.


"Perhaps, the EU may decide to launch negotiations with Azerbaijan on visa facilitation and readmission for the next 2-3 months," Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammadguliyev told media.

Azerbaijan continues negotiating with the EU within the "Eastern Partnership" program. The next round of talks is planned to be held in Baku next January, he said.

Why is this important? Well simply because the coalition government have accepted that there is nothing they can do about immigration from within the EU, but keep on banging on about how they can deal with Non-EU immigration.

It just isn't true. If the EU decides to hand Visas over to country X or Y then there is nothing Cameron can do about it, bar stick his head in the sand and repeat the 'cutting non EU migration' mantra.