The Council of Europe and Azerbaijan: corruption in parliament

Roxana Bratu

What happened?

This case highlights corrupt practices that went consistently unrecognized at the highest level of the Parliamentary Assembly at the Council of Europe (PACE) for nearly 20 years. Azerbaijan engaged in “caviar diplomacy” from the inception of its membership of the Council of Europe (COE) in 2001, making consistent efforts to silence criticism and promote a favourable view within PACE in exchange for gifts and money extended to foreign politicians and public officials.

This lobbying strategy functioned in parallel with the Azerbaijani laundromat (Harding, Barr & Nagapetyants 2017), a scheme used to pay lobbyists, apologists of the political regime and MPs, as well as to launder cash via shell companies registered in the UK and elsewhere. Azerbaijan made significant use of this practice for a very long time. The justifications spun by those implicated gave the impression that these practices were generally viewed as acceptable. These factors point to an institutional culture based on a lack of transparency and accountability, high levels of informality and, ultimately, corruption.

A 2018 report into “allegations of corruption and fostering of interests” within PACE (PACE 2018a) was commissioned following reports by several NGOs, including the European Stability Initiative (2012). The investigation was carried out by an independent investigation body consisting of three former judges and highlighted that Azerbaijan joined the COE on the understanding that it would carry out reforms to human rights, fundamental freedoms of political prisoners and free elections. However, Azerbaijani officials instead created a network of supporters and apologists to silence critics (PACE 2018a). These “friends” consisted of around a dozen MPs and a few members of the secretariat who worked to further the interests of Azerbaijan from within PACE. In exchange for their support, the “friends” would receive material, symbolic and/ or political benefits.

The support by Azerbaijan, with a budget of €200,000, for the appointment of Pedro Agramunt, of Spain – first as chair of the party grouping EPP (European People's Party) and then as president of PACE – is indicative of the corrupt practices used (Freedom Files Analytical Centre 2017). This was not an isolated incident, as other MPs had received support from Azerbaijan in successfully obtaining appointments in PACE to the Monitoring Committee, the Rules Committee and as rapporteurs, leading to an apparent softening of the attitude of PACE reports towards Azerbaijan.