21/03/2017 (Agence Europe) – On Tuesday 21 March, the European Union and Armenia initialled their new "comprehensive and enhanced partnership agreement". According to the European External Action Service (EEAS), this agreement will strengthen the political dialogue and will enable enhanced cooperation in sectors such as energy, transport and the environment. It will also open up new trade and investment opportunities, and enable increased mobility of people. The agreement is expected to be signed within a year at most, according to Armenia's Minister for Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian. However, before this, the internal procedures will have to be finalised and the EU Council will have to give its agreement to the signature and conclusion of the agreement. European Council President Donald Tusk announced the conclusion of the negotiations on 27 February (see EUROPE 11735). The negotiations were officially launched in December 2015 (see EUROPE 11447). (CG)