What Opportunities Does the Ratification of the Armenia-EU Agreement by the Parliament Create?

• 04.11.2018, 18:52
• Narek Minasyan
•  Europe,  "Insight" Analytical Center ,  Armenia

The RA National Assembly unanimously ratified the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement. By the ratification of the agreement, in fact, we fully carried out the principle of "both...and" proclaimed by our diplomacy. If the first component of this principle was was implemented by our accession to the Eurasian Economic Union, now with the launch of the agreement, the second component of the principle also becomes a reality.

It is also noteworthy that, despite the various speculations around the agreement, the Parliament ratified it unanimously, which in essence affirms that the parliamentary forces have consensus on the importance of the European integration.

The ratification of the Agreement also has a practical significance, given that it has a special provision for the temporary implementation of the Agreement. Last year in December the European side informed Armenia that after the ratification of the Agreement by the National Assembly the provisions that are under the jurisdiction of the EU (as a structure) may temporarily enter into force. Thus, after the ratification of the agreement by the National Assembly, a significant part of it will be temporarily enacted in June, even without the ratification of the European side.

As for the process of ratification of the Armenia-EU Agreement by the national parliaments of the EU member states and the European Parliament, it will probably require a certain period of time due to the peculiarities of the European bureaucratic system, internal procedures for ratification of international agreements, and the priorities of the pan-European agenda.

Nevertheless, the process has already started and we have the ratification of the Agreement by the Estonian Parliament. In order to give a certain speed to the process, it is necessary to activate the work with the EU partners. In the case of individual countries it is also important to use our lobbying levers.