JOSE MANUEL BARROSO HOPES TO DEVELOP AND STRENGTHEN RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
10.04.2008 19:41 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Mr Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European
Commission sent a congratulatory message to Mr Serzh Sargsyan,
President of the Republic of Armenia.

The message says,

"Dear Mr President,

On behalf of the European Commission, I would like to convey to you my
congratulations on your election as the new President of the Republic
of Armenia.

The European Commission looks forward to continuing to develop and
strengthen relations with your country in the context of the European
Union-Armenia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and the European
Neighborhood Policy Action Plan.

Your government faces important challenges in promoting and
implementing an agenda of political and economic reforms including
the stabilisation of the democratic process and the dialogue among
the different political forces and with civil society.

I would like to underline that despite current internal difficulties in
Armenia the European Commission stands ready to accompany your efforts
to build a prosperous State respecting human rights and the rule of
law while pursuing successful economic and social development policies.

In this context, I hope your government will be able to further
deepen democracy, notably in ensuring that electoral processes are
held in full compliance with OSCE and other international standards
for democratic elections. In this respect I trust that shortcomings
identified by the 2008 International Election Observation Mission
will be diligently addressed.

I assure you of my personal interest in all these undertakings."