In a speech at the summit on Wednesday, Aliyev, who is hosting the talks, lambasted Paris and The Hague for their "colonial rule" in overseas territories and described Brussels as a symbol of "political corruption".
"These unacceptable statements risk to undermine the conference's vital climate objectives and the credibility of Azerbaijan's COP29 presidency," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell posted on X.
The spat comes as COP29 is already suffering from divisions over funding for climate action, with major leaders including US President Joe Biden and China's Xi Jinping sitting out the talks.
The European Union and its member states "are the biggest contributor to global climate finance", wrote Borrell, who was also personally attacked by Aliyev, describing the authoritarian leader's allegations as "most regrettable".
We also reject (Azerbaijani) authorities' attacks against media and NGOs facing the critical situation of human rights in the country," he added.
Aliyev had accused France of "crimes" and "human rights violations" in its overseas territories including New Caledonia in the south Pacific, where 13 people were killed this year in protests over a contested voting reform.
Addressing COP29 delegates, he hit out at the EU and the Council of Europe human rights body, calling them "symbols of political corruption that share responsibility" with Paris "for the killings of innocent people".
He also accused Borrell of having compared the rest of the world to a jungle while Europe was a garden. "If we are the jungles," Aliyev said, "then stay away from us and don't interfere in our affairs."
In the run-up to the climate summit, Azerbaijan was widely denounced for its human rights record and repression of the opposition.
Aliyev has ruled his gas-rich country with an iron fist for more than two decades.
Relations between Paris and Baku were already frosty over France's longtime support for Azerbaijan's arch-rival Armenia.
French President Emmanuel Macron has also stayed away from COP29 and his environment minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher has said she will now also skip the gathering.
COP29 host Azerbaijan says doors 'still open' after spat with France
Baku (AFP) Nov 14, 2024 -
Azerbaijan's "doors are still open", the COP29 presidency's lead negotiator said Thursday after France's ecology minister pulled out of the UN climate summit over "unacceptable" remarks by President Ilham Aliyev.
Aliyev used a speech at COP on Wednesday to attack Paris for alleged colonial "crimes" and "human rights violations" in its overseas territories, notably in the troubled Pacific archipelago of New Caledonia.
French Environment Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher slammed the remarks as "deplorable" and said she was cancelling her trip to Baku.
Azerbaijan's leader was using "the fight against climate change for a shameful personal agenda," she added, with relations between the two countries already frosty.
But the COP29 presidency's lead negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev insisted Thursday that Azerbaijan had fostered "an inclusive process".
"We have opened our doors to everybody to come to engage in very constructive, fruitful discussions. Our doors are still open," he added.
Despite her pullout, Pannier-Runacher said the team of French negotiators in Baku would not relent in their efforts to do a deal "to protect the planet and its populations" from climate change.
Relations between Paris and Baku are tense over France's longtime support for Azerbaijan's arch-rival Armenia.
Azerbaijan defeated Armenia in a lightning offensive last year when it retook the breakaway Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh -- leading to an exodus of more than 100,000 Armenians.
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