The European Parliament created a "Delegation for relations with the countries of South Caucasus" - the original DSCA delegation - in 1994 to focus on relations with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, a mere three years years after these countries regained their independence.
In the more than two decades that have passed since, the DSCA Delegation has remained the Parliament's only political body working with elected representatives from the three countries of the South Caucasus.
Relations with the EU
In the early 1990s, the EU negotiated international agreements with all three South Caucasus countries.
These "Partnership and Cooperation Agreements" were signed in 1996 and ratified in 1999. All three agreements contain an article stating:
"A Parliamentary Cooperation Committee is hereby established. It shall be a forum for Members of the [partner's parliament] and the European Parliament to meet and exchange views."
This meant that the members of the European Parliament's delegation focusing on the South Caucasus met their counterparts in a formal structure - a Parliamentary Cooperation Committee - rather than in ad hoc inter-parliamentary meetings.
Divergent paths
All three countries were included in the EU's Eastern Neighbourhood policy (which also covered Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine). The EU began to negotiate new agreements, called "Association Agreements", with Armenia and Georgia. These agreements normally include a free trade area, and usually go into effect along with more relaxed rules on visas.
Over the next years, the paths of the three countries diverged, however.
Committee meetings
The EU-Georgia Parliamentary Association Committee is expected to meet twice a year, while the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Partnership Committee may meet once or twice a year. The EU-Azerbaijan Parliamentary Cooperation Committee meets normally once per year.