The fourth meeting of the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Partnership Committee (PPC), welcoming the adoption at first reading, by the National Assembly of Armenia, of the draft law on initiating the process of Armenia’s accession to the EU (see EUROPE 13578/33), invited the Armenian government and the EU institutions, on Tuesday 25 February, to discuss a realistic plan of work towards this “strategic objective” for the country’s future.
In a joint statement, the representatives of the European Parliament and the Armenian Parliament called on Yerevan to continue implementing the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA), believing that this “would be a strong signal of the seriousness of Armenia’s European ambition”.
MEPs also welcomed the negotiations on the ambitious new EU-Armenia Partnership Agenda, “which should reflect the mutual interest in deepening the bilateral ties in all their dimensions”, particularly in the field of security and defence, and the opening of dialogue on visa liberalisation. They encourage the Armenian government to “spare no effort” to meet the benchmarks “as soon as possible” and invite the EU to provide related technical support.
Stressing the importance of efforts to increase Armenia’s economic and trade diversification and reduce existing dependencies, the committee believes that a gradual reorientation of trade flows would be necessary to ensure the viability of any prospect of possible future EU membership.
While acknowledging that “Armenia has established itself as a full-fledged democracy and a regional leader in good governance”, the parliamentary committee calls for further reforms in the country.
Finally, the parliamentarians encourage further progress in the negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the peace treaty and the normalisation of their relations.
See the statement: https://aeur.eu/f/fo1 (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)