Turkmenistan and the EU

Political relations

The relations between the EU and Central Asia have been developing within the framework of the new EU Strategy on Central Asia, adopted by the Council of the European Union in June 2019. Together with the Joint Communication on "The EU and Central Asia: New Opportunities for a Stronger Partnership" by the High Representative and the European Commission, this new Strategy provides a new policy framework for EU engagement with the countries of Central Asia over the coming years, focusing on promoting resilience, prosperity, and regional cooperation in Central Asia. It reflects the new dynamics that have developed in the region in recent years, the new momentum in regional cooperation, and the fast development of initiatives aiming to connect Europe and Asia across the region.

Bilateral relations between Turkmenistan and the European Union are governed by an Interim Trade Agreement (2010), pending ratification of a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement by the European Parliament.

Within the framework of this Agreement, the EU and Turkmenistan hold annual meetings of a bilateral Joint Committee to discuss key aspects of bilateral relations, notably in: (i) trade and economy; (ii) the EU-Central Asia Strategy implementation; (iii) political and economic developments; (iv) and key aspects of EU development cooperation programs. Nineteen meetings of a Joint Committee have been organized so far, most recently on 25th June 2020.

Relations between the European Parliament and Majlis of Turkmenistan are conducted through the mechanism of Inter-Parliamentary Meetings; the most recent 5^th EU-Turkmenistan Inter-Parliamentary Meeting was held in Brussels in on 2 December 2019.

EU Assistance for response to COVID-19

The EU and its Member States have mobilised €123 million for Central Asia. In July 2020, the EU launched a comprehensive €3 million Central Asia COVID-19 Crisis Response Solidarity Programme, with a primary focus on Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. The programme, implemented by the World Health Organisation, will provide support over a period of two years to mitigate the current outbreak of the pandemic and contribute towards longer-term resilience of the national health systems.

Trade and economic relations

The EU and Turkmenistan Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of energy (2008) facilitates the information exchange on energy policies, the diversification of transit routes and the promotion of renewables and energy efficiency. The latest meeting within the framework of this Memorandum took place in Ashgabat on 24th October 2019.

More information on trade with Central Asia/Turkmenistan:

https://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/regions/central-asia/

More information on energy cooperation with Turkmenistan:

https://ec.europa.eu/energy/topics/international-cooperation/key-partner-countries-and-regions/central-asia_en

Development and cooperation

The EU’s Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI) provides funding for development in the country. In this context, bilateral cooperation projects focus on economic reforms and privatization, education and capacity building, good governance and the rule of law, and sustainable energy.

EU assistance for 2011-2013 was approximately EUR 39 million, the focus being on education and legal reforms, the promotion of human rights, and economic and social sector reforms for sustainable development. 2014 - 2020 EU bilateral assistance is focused on education and vocational training (EUR 37 million for the period 2014-17). The EU and Turkmenistan also cooperate in the framework of the regional approach, which includes all five Central Asian republics. Regional cooperation projects focus on education, rule of law, water and environment, border management, fight against drug trafficking, private sector development, support to investment, competitiveness and trade in Central Asia, and other areas.

Human Rights

The EU Human Rights policy for Turkmenistan focuses on the following priority areas:

Human rights implementation: continuation of capacity building of public services to implement human rights laws and conventions. Implementation of a number of EU and its MS funded projects will facilitate achieving this objective, notably in the area of: (a) enhancement of the institutional and training capacities of Turkmenistan's Academy of Civil Servants and of relevant state bodies, including the Institute of Human Rights; (b) training on human rights conventions to Turkmenistan judges and lawyers; (c) rule of law.
Judicial reform and prison reform: supporting reforms of the judicial and prison systems as well as access to prisons. Implementation of concrete EU and its MS funded projects will facilitate achieving this objective, notably in the area of the Ombudsperson's role in looking at the status of prisoners.
Freedom of association and expression: supporting the civil society and human rights defenders. Creation of a more favorable environment for the functioning of the civil society organizations is in line with the priorities of Turkmenistan's National Human Rights Action Plan for 2016-2020.

EU-Turkmenistan Human Rights Dialogue

Human rights are an important aspect of the bilateral relations between the EU and Turkmenistan. Since the launch of a bilateral annual Human Rights dialogue in 2008, the EU has already held twelve meetings of this Human Rights Dialogue with Turkmenistan authorities, most recently on 18 June 2020, allowing for constructive and open discussions on a number of issues related to human rights and democratization, including: prison conditions; torture and enforced disappearances; judicial reforms and the rule of law; freedom of association, of expression and of belief; role of independent Ombudsman.