Crude Accountability's Comments on the EBRD's Azerbaijan Country Strategy for 2025-2030

The Board of Directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) reviews and submits Azerbaijan's Country Strategy for discussion every five years. The draft strategy was published on the EBRD website in both English and Azerbaijani, with the public invited to provide feedback from October 4 to November 17, 2024. Following this consultation period, the Board approved the final Azerbaijan Country Strategy 2025-2030 on January 29, 2025.1 Throughout this process, the EBRD emphasized transparency, acknowledging various comments from civil society organizations and experts. However, it noted that input submitted jointly with Crude Accountability partner organizations was not incorporated into the final version, resulting in minimal differences between the draft and the approved document. According to the EBRD's statement, an in-person public consultation meeting with civil society organizations (CSOs) in Azerbaijan was held on April 22, 2024. However, the list of participating local NGOs has not been disclosed. Given the absence of independent NGOs in Azerbaijan, the inclusion of pro-government organizations in such consultations appears to be largely symbolic, creating the illusion of public participation rather than facilitating meaningful dialogue. Therefore, the assessment presented in the final version lacks depth and comprehensive analysis. The absence of independent NGOs and free media-both essential for fostering open dialogue and diverse perspectives-has severely restricted the possibility of meaningful public discussion and critical engagement with the document. The state of civil society in Azerbaijan has significantly deteriorated since the EBRD's last country strategy was written, and engagement with local civil society organizations has declined in the EBRD's activities. There is limited evidence of concrete outcomes from the Bank's purported closer collaboration with Azerbaijani authorities in critical economic sectors during this period.