PACE APPROVES REPORT ON FULFILLMENT OF COMMITMENTS BY ARMENIA

AZG Armenian Daily #013, 25/01/2007

Armenia CE Relations

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has approved,
by an almost solid vote: 32 votes "for" and 1 – "against", the report
on fulfillment of commitments by Armenia, presented by co-reporters
Georges Colombier and Mikko Elo. In the course of the debates on a
draft resolution, the European parliamentarians have highly appreciated
the report quality and Armenia’s efforts in fulfilling its commitments
on the way of reforms implementation.

Nevertheless, the European parliamentarians stated that the monitoring
on fulfillment of commitments by Armenia will not be stopped, since,
in their opinion, "it is not enough to pass a law but also to assure
mechanisms for the law to function ". According to a Netherlands
parliamentarian, Leo Platvoyet, Armenia has made the first steps
forward on the way of reforming the legal system, the Electoral code
and granting of freedom to Mass Media. "However, still much is to
be done. Monitoring is not a punishment but a continuous process of
advising", L. Platvoyet said.

Moreover, the European parliamentarians underlined that adoption of
this document is a preliminary examine for Armenia, while the main
examine will be a conduction of democratic parliamentary elections in
May, 2007. In his turn, a French parliamentarian Francis Rochedloine,
having positively assessed the fulfillment of commitments by Armenia,
noted that despite the fact the Armenian state is very ancient, it has
got the independence only 15 years ago and it is unreal to require an
ideal compliance to the structure commitments. "As for the issue of
determining the status of Yerevan, the provisions of mechanisms of
election of the capital Mayor and other implemented reforms, France
had been working for two centuries to achieve the results Armenia
has achieved within 15 years of independence, and no one considered
the French Republic undemocratic", Francis Rochedloine.