EU Fully Supports Normalization Process of Armenia-Turkey Relations - Toivo Klaar
"Normalization of relations and opening of communications is an important objective that the European Union fully supports", he said on Twitte
"Normalization of relations and opening of communications is an important objective that the European Union fully supports", he said on Twitte
The EU wants to be a very committed, active, and engaged partner for Armenia's stability, prosperity, and security. In this context, we had the opportunity to talk about Armenia-EU relations
The importance of the continuous mutual efforts aimed at promoting the mobility of citizens, fighting illegal migration and opening in due course the Visa Liberalization Dialogue has been underlined.
Armenia has the highest percentage of the use of the preference among all the EU GSP+ beneficiaries in 2019, EU delegation in Armenia informs.
Austria notified on July 22 the General Secretariat of the European Council and the Council of the EU about the completion of its internal procedures necessary for the ratification of the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
Eastern Europe leaders have opposed attaching rule of law conditions, while southern European countries are rejecting demands from the so-called frugal four, now five, countries - Netherlands, Austria, Finland, Sweden and Denmark - for a great sum bound by economic reform requirements.
President of France Emmanuel Macron has sent a letter of support to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen addressed a joint letter to Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.
On June 1, at the initiative of the UK side, Foreign Minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Wendy Morton, United Kingdom’s Minister for European Neighborhood and the Americas held a video call, MFA informs.
France notified about the completion of its internal procedures necessary for the ratification of the Armenia-EU CEPA.
The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia, Miroslav Lajcak, will pay an official visit to Armenia on February 24, informs the MFA of Armenia.
On February 18, the Speaker of the RA National Assembly Ararat Mirzoyan being in the capital of the Kingdom of Denmark Copenhagen on an official visit met with the Speaker of the Danish Parliament Henrik Dam Kristensen (Social-Democratic Party). The First Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Karen Ellemann and the Third Deputy Speaker Jens Rohde (Social-Liberal Party of Denmark) also took part in the meeting,...
Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan visited on February 18 the Amalienborg royal place where he had a private meeting with Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
The discussion also focused on the agenda of ongoing reforms in Armenia. The European Council President said he attaches importance to the reform path selected by Armenia.
Sweden informed the General Secretariat of the European Council and the Council of the EU on January 31 about finishing the domestic procedures for the ratification of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between Armenia and the EU, ARMENPRESS reports press secretary of the Armenian foreign ministry Anna Naghdalyan wrote on her Facebook page.
Croatia has finished ratification of the EU-Armenia Agreement, the Spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Anna Naghdalyan announced.
The Senate has just adopted a law authorizing the ratification of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between the EU and Armenia.
Within the framework of the 26th OSCE Ministerial Conference in Bratislava, Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan participated in the meeting between the newly appointed EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell and the Foreign Ministers of Eastern Partnership countries.
He brought an example of Russia, which remains the largest beneficiary of the Schengen visas despite problems in EU-Russia relations.
EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was signed in Brussels on November 24, 2017.
The document received a unanimous support by all the 115 legislators attending the session (4 in absentia), Anna Naghdalyan, the Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson, said on Facebook.
242 lawmakers voted in favor of the ratification of the agreement, 2 abstained.
On 23 August, 2019, Germany notified the EU Council upon the completion of its internal procedures necessary for the ratification of the Armenia-EU CEPA.
The interlocutors reflected on EU-Armenia relations and the cooperation underway in the framework of the Eastern Partnership.
Within the framework of the planned activities, the focus has been on creating jobs in the regions and ensuring regional economic growth.
“Insight from Yerevan: Earth” hosts Karen Simonyan, Bright Armenia faction MP, to discuss the outcomes of the second session of Armenia-EU partnership in Brussels.
The Council was chaired by the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan. The European Union was represented by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini.
“Magnifier” deals with RA integration processes discrepancies in international affairs and within the society and the importance of fighting them.
“Insight from Yerevan: Earth” hosted political scientist, PhD Narek Grigoryan, to discuss the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership, EU policy and RA-EU relations.
“Insight From Yerevan: Earth” hosted RA foreign minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan to discuss the Karabakh conflict regulation talks process, expectation from the people, ceasfire, RA-EU relationships and other issues.
“Insight from Yerevan: Realpolitik” hosts Arman Yeghoyan, RA NA chair of the European integration standing committee, to discuss RA-EU CEPA agreement implementation and parliamentary diplomacy role in the implementation process.
Germany became the 11th EU member state to ratify the Armenia-EU agreement. Sweden is expected to be the next in the near future.
In the votes, which were nonbinding, lawmakers considered four plans.
European Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn visited Armenia in the beginning of the week.
In 2018 the relations between Armenia and the European Union entered into an important phase: in November 2017, the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement was signed between Armenia and EU.
On 27 November 2018 the European Union and Armenia held the first meeting of the Partnership Committee under the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA),
The Romanian Senate ratified the deal unanimously with 96 votes in favor and 0 against.
It is quite natural that the rapid pace and success of democratic processes in Armenia are awarded a positive assessment from the EU, and this assessment must be materialized. Let's try to clarify what practical steps can be expected from the EU at this stage.
In particular, the PM said the recent events in Armenia significantly contributed to the development and strengthening of democracy.
It is noteworthy that even partial, but quick implementation of the agreement will give an additional impetus to the reforms being implemented in Armenia with the EU support, as well as will deepen Armenia-EU cooperation in a number of spheres. As a result, the agreement will have a direct impact on the lives of Armenian citizens.
Since ancient times, Armenia has been a part of European civilization and tried to make its modest, but visible contribution to the latter's development.
Armenia’s Ambassador to Lithuania Tigran Mkrtchyan tweeted that the ratification of the Agreement, subject to endorsement by all EU members states, was adopted with 89 votes in favor and 1 abstention.
Reactions to Nikol Pashinyan's election as prime minister also testified the consistent work that had been carried out with both Russia and the West.
To achieve these important goals, a comprehensive dialogue among all political stakeholders in Armenia, including civil society, remains crucial
The legislative body of Lithuania, the Seimas, has just approved the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) at the first reading with 81 votes in favor and 0 against.
"After Estonia Latvia is the second EU member state that ratifies this agreement. We want to thank all factions of Latvia’s Saeima, foreign ministry, our friends for the support”, the Ambassador said on Twitter.
Armenia and EU signed the deal in November of 2017.
If we refer to the meaning of ratification of the agreement on behalf of Armenia, then two components can be distinguished: political and practical.
All present 95 lawmakers voted for the ratification of the agreement.
It should be reminded that Armenia and the EU signed the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement on November 24, 2017 at the Eastern Partnership Summit in Brussels.
It is important to note that if initially the EU was guided by a single mechanism for building cooperation with all six EaP countries, then soon they realized that this is inefficient.
It should be noted that the park was opened in 2011. Former Mayor of Lyon Gerard Collomb was present at the opening ceremony.
George Kepenekyan also visited the museum0institude of the Armenian Genocide where familiarized himself with the samples and left an entry in the guests’ book.
The last time when Armenia hosted this event was in 2003.
Within the framework of the four-day visit in Brussels Armen Ashotyan also met with Cristian Dan Preda, Coordinator of the Foreign Affairs of the EPP Faction.
The new projects will engage Armenian citizens, including women and youth, in work on human rights, budget transparency, capacity-building of women's organisations, assessments and discussions of the situation in closed institutions, and enhancing the knowledge of citizens in rural communities and civil society organisations on steps to reducing their energy costs through new technology.
In order for the agreement to enter into force and all sides to fulfill their obligations, the agreement must be ratified both by the parliaments of 28 EU member states and the European Parliament.
This year, by signing the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement with the EU, Armenia has finally implemented its "both and" policy.
This commission will coordinate the events to ensure the application of the Partnership Priorities document of the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement that was signed recently.
Foreign Minister of Armenia added that France has been the first EU country, with which Armenia had started the visa facilitation process in 2008.
In the context of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement with the EU, the sides touched upon Armenia-European Union relations.
Noting that sincere and open discussions had been held in a good working atmosphere with Herbert Salber, the previous EU Special Representative, the President of Armenia expressed confidence that the work with the new Special Representative will continue in the same spirit.
We are very happy since it forms a new circle for the relations which can serve a firm base for further developments.
Not only Armenia but also EAEU partner countries will do their best to take maximum advantage of this opportunity.
Summarizing, it can be mentioned that in some terms very general and compromising formulations were chosen in the Brussels Declaration. As for Armenia, in general, the document reflects a positive assessment of the great work done, overcoming the many uncertainties and the desire of both the EU and Armenia to move forward.
Being at the crossroads of the integration processes, we managed to bypass the dilemma, considered to be inevitable in such kind of situations.
Within the framework of his visit, the President of Armenia will hold meetings with King Philippe of Belgium and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Belgium Charles Michel.
He added that the agreement is a joint initiative which will further deepen relations in wider circles of the revised European neighborhood policy and Eastern Partnership.
Bishkek is interested in the [respective] experience of the customs officers, quality control laboratories, and licensing agencies, alike”.
Such a formulation means that the question of the closure of the nuclear power point will be discussed in the context of its replacement with new capacity.
Ara Babloyan expressed conviction that the OSCE representatives’ visits to the region would give an opportunity to get acquainted with the regional problems, and get an unbiased picture about them.
"We, the EU, prepare everything necessary for signing the new agreement in November", Switalski said.
I have mentioned that by joining the system, we periodically had a dialogue with representatives of the European Commission in terms of presenting information about the work done on conventions. So far, we have submitted four annual reports to the European Commission and the upcoming report is not the first one.
From these 10 million Euros 5 million will be allocated for the introduction of drip irrigation system for farmers.
In fact, Nalbandian's speech is a step in the official clarification of the Armenian side's vision of cooperation with the EU in the face of signing the new Armenia-EU framework agreement, which is scheduled for autumn. In fact, the priority areas for Armenia are thus becoming clear, in which Armenia may initiate cooperation.
The European Union has been and will remain our trusted partner
According to the source Nalbandian will take part at the 17th session of the EU-RA Cooperation Council.
Summarizing what has been said, we can note that as a result of these elections, 8.72% of the Armenian society gave preference to the most pro-Western forces, and 87.56%, to the combination of European and Eurasian integration processes.
It can be noted that two of the four political forces represented in the parliament clearly emphasize the importance of developing cooperation with both the Eurasian Union and the European Union. One of the other two forces also supports the "and-and" policy, since at the moment it is the best one in terms of the interests of Armenia.
By pre-signing and later by signing the Agreement, Armenia fixed its commitment to the European values, to its will for carrying out reforms in the country.
In this sense we will single out two meetings in particular, one with the Union of Entrepreneurs of France (MEDEF) and the other with the representatives of Armenian communities in Europe.
On the other hand, the President of Armenia, in turn, confirmed Armenia's readiness to contribute to the cooperation between the EAEU and the EU.
In particular, reference was made to Azerbaijan's recent statements on the status quo and it was specified that there is only one way to change the status quo, it is the recognition of self-determination of Artsakh people.
The two sides discussed the NK peace process, existing problems and concerns.
Speaking generally, the previous two years in Armenia-EU relations have been marked by vigorousness, political dialogue has significantly activated and cooperation in various spheres has expanded.
Świtalski also added that Armenia’s 2013 move to embark on Eurasian integration (instead of signing the EU Association agreement) slowed down the process a little bit. He said the EU had to consider its investments’ protection in the country after the decision.
In parallel to the political component, the negotiations on the economic component of the new framework agreement are also going on.
"Summing up the year we can state that if in spring these negotiations reach an end point, which seems more than possible today, a new agreement is signed and is implemented productively, we can state that the policy of "and-and" always pursued by Armenia gave its results," the expert added.
Armenia has always declared that it does not accept the principle that the two integration vectors contradict each other and it will seek to move with "and…and" principle.
"I cannot say anything about when the agreement could be signed, but Armenia’s government has signaled that it will be signed next summer," he added.
It will be a very important stage. I think both sides aim at decisive progress," Świtalski noted.
This year's program is dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Independence of the Republic of Armenia.
Nalbandian had a meeting with Federica Mogherini,
Nalbandian had a meeting with Edgars Rinkēvičs, Foreign Minister of Latvia.
Being well aware that Visa Liberalization Dialogue is a comprehensive process we also consider it as an additional incentive to foster reforms and cooperation with the EU in a number of areas.
Therefore, it was no coincidence that the EU High Representative hurried to visit the region and reiterated the willingness of the EU to develop close relations with each country, to create individual format and stressed that "the cooperation with European Union does not exclude cooperation with other international alliances."
Foreign Minister Nalbandian reaffirmed Armenia’s commitment to strengthen and expand multi-dimensional cooperation in all areas of mutual interest.
During her visit the meetings with President Serzh Sargsyan, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, MPs, and representatives of the country’s political forces and civil society are planned.
According to the RA MFA press service, the RA President Serzh Sargsyan will receive Mogherini.
Despite of pessimistic spirits because of accession of Armenia into the EAEU, the EU continues sending positive impulses to Armenia, which refer to economic cooperation as well.
We look forward to develop our cooperation in the transport area as well, in this respect we underlined the importance of timely starting of negotiations on the Common aviation area.
This is good news for Armenian citizens.
"The EU will continue to assist Armenia on its internal political, social and economic reform processes, based on the future new legal framework for bilateral cooperation and within the larger perspective of the Eastern Partnership," the website writes.
On December 7, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian will leave for Brussels.
The European Commission and the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy have unveiled on November 18 the main lines of the review of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), spelling out the Union's renewed approach to its eastern and southern neighbours.
According to the opinion of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe "the work carried out by the Constitutional Commission of Armenia is of extremely high quality and deserves to be supported and welcomed" . It also stated that the draft text of the Constitution is in line with international standards.
The new EU-Armenia cooperation document, which is to be negotiated and signed, should reflect the entire depth of our relations, Karen Nazaryan, a deputy foreign minister of Armenia said in an interview with Tert.am,
Thanking for the reception, Gunnar Wiegand mentioned that the upcoming launch of the talks enables the formation of a new cooperation framework on the existing rich basis.
"Armedia" IAA presents a policy paper "European Neighbourhood Policy Update: Opportunities for the EaP Format, Particularly for Armenia” prepared by its partner "European Integration" NGO, which has been designed within the framework of the EU-funded "Civil Society. Dialogue for Progress" project.
At this stage it is important for Armenia to be an initiator and clearly define its expectations, to show readiness and flexibility for fulfilling them. In many cases we should be the one, that makes the first step, irrespective of EU’s willingness or opportunities to support us in that. In doing so, we will demonstrate our willingness and ability to set ambitious goals during negotiations.
"We attach importance to the decision of the Council of the European Union to give a mandate to the European Commission to start negotiations over forming the new legal basis of relations with Armenia."
"EU Foreign Affairs council authorized EU Commission to launch negotiations with Armenia on new legal base."
During the meeting the role of the RA as an initiator was particularly underlined.
In the second part of the discussion the participants engaged in an active discussion and through answer and question session touched upon the analysis of the practical examples.
At the meeting, President Serzh Sargsyan attached importance to Sweden’s balanced position on the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.
At the meeting, the RA president and the Italian prime minister attached importance also to the role of parliamentary diplomacy to develop bilateral relations.
If we compare the index of the Eastern Partnership, by two of the three criterias Armenia is ahead of Belarus. The same applies to the press freedom index of the EaP countries, where Armenia has 955, while Belarus 502 points. In fact, with some of the parameters Armenia is equal or even ahead of EaP leading countries.
The minister said that during his tenure Hristea has done active and fruitful work contributing to the extension of Armenia-EU cooperation in various spheres.
Being guided by its energy interests, the EU helps Azerbaijan to improve its policy of blackmail. And this policy is now built not only against Armenia and NKR , but also against Europe, and the closure of the OSCE office in Baku is another evidence.
According to the same source President of the European Council is also to visit the Genocide Memorial as well as to meet representatives of the opposition parties.
This means that Azerbaijan simply behaves like a "spoiled child," whose "naughtiness" has never been punished. Moreover, these actions are not only neglected, but also being perceived as a natural phenomenon.
If we talk about the target-goals of the EaP since its formation, then it has always been emphasized that the most important factor is the existence of a common value system. Today, however, due to the situation in Belarus and Azerbaijan the existing values in these countries are not comparable in any way with those in Armenia.
on July 14-15, the head of the European Council will be in Georgia, on July 16 - in Armenia.
This financial support, which is directed for the development of farmers groups and value adding chains throughout Armenia, is being done within the program ENPARD Armenia.
The reason why the protesters demanded to put down the EU flag was this. They have many times said that no other flag than the Armenian tricolor should be there. This means that no matter what flag there was, the reaction would be the same.
In this context Makei’s announcement once again reminded that if there is a political will, it is not difficult to find ways of cooperation between the two unions. The only thing that is needed is constructive suggestions and creative approaches, which would let overcome the existing problems and not concentrate on them.
In order to define our future contractual relations we have been engaged with our EU partners to shape the scope of a legal framework, which will reflect the contents of our past negotiations while taking into account our obligations in other integration formats.
Since June 23, 2015 the embassies of Armenia of those countries that have signed the Schengen Agreement, will be included in the system of "VIS" (Visa Information System).
The EU side is ready to enter into negotiations once the mandate is approved by its Member States. The exact timeframe for the negotiation itself is difficult to predict, as in case of any negotiations, but we are looking forward to a relatively rapid and swift process, bearing in mind the comprehensive work done jointly already during the scoping exercise.
The actual statements about the further cooperation and commitment of the same values are not a sufficient basis for building a strong and deep relationship. At this stage, both the Armenian initiatives and the EU appropriate steps are equally important.
The fight between Armenian boxer, WBO super middleweight world champion Arthur Abraham and German boxer Robert Steiglitz is scheduled on July 18.
President Serzh Sargsyan underscored that Armenia also seeks to promote economic relations with the friendly country of Latvia. The president reiterated Armenia’s commitment to the implementation of reforms based on common principles and to the enhancement of democracy in the country.
The interlocutors referred to Armenia-EU relations and the perspectives of development. The Armenian President stressed the key role of Germany in the deepening of those relations.
Yes, we have assumed certain obligations within EACU framework and during the discussion of the package we’ll take into consideration these obligations and I am sure we’ll have no conflicting issue here.
As for the Forum itself, it was attended by 500 delegates, 10 international consultants from more than 47 European countries and international organizations.
During the meeting the parties exchanged their views on the work on EU-Armenia relations. The interlocutors discussed the issues on preparatory works for Riga Summit.
The Armenian President thanked the EPP leader for accepting the invitation and participating in the ceremonies dedicated to the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide.
That is to say in case of Armenia’s foreign policy we have already witnessed reconsideration, Armenian is going to foster its relations with the EU, to engage in the Union as much as possible.
The model that is being developed for Armenia and with the help of Armenia, has a chance to become the basis for all Eastern Partnership countries.
At the summit in Brussels the UK pledged €21mn for a "good governance fund" aimed at the Eastern Partnership countries.
European Union-Armenia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee encourages the Member States and the EU Institutions to contribute further to its recognition.
Commissioner Johannes Hahn said that he highly valued the current dialogue and cooperation between Armenia and its European partners.
The sides placed importance to EU-Armenia Agreements on Visa Facilitation and Readmission, entered into effort from January 2014 that pave the way to launch of the negotiations on visa liberalization.
We're prepared to further support Armenia in areas such as good governance, human rights, fighting corruption, reforming the judiciary, implementation of the mobility partnership and the visa facilitation and readmission agreements in force with the EU.
With regard to the current stage of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, it should be noted that Baku continues to oppose the Minsk Group Co-Chairs and does its utmost to undermine the peace talks.
Speaking about the EU-Armenia cooperation, Nalbandian reaffirmed Armenia's readiness, based on reached achievements over the recent years, to deepen comprehensive cooperation in all possible areas.
Taking into account effective implementation of current Action Plan, participants of the Armenian side reaffirmed necessity of drafting new 2015 – 2017 Action Plan for Armenia.
Armenia has a great experience and historically good relations with both EaP countries and the Arabic world. This potential can be used for better engagement of all countries in the process of consultations; Armenia can play an important role during these months and have its input in the modernization of the whole ENP.
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