ARMENIA: PRESIDENT SERZH SARGSYAN CONDUCTED WORKING MEETING PERTAINING ARMENIA-EU RELATIONS

ISRIA

N ov 14 2008
DC

Today, at the working meeting conducted by President Sargsyan,
discussed was the whole range of issues pertaining to the Armenia-EU
relations. The meeting was attended by the members of the National
Security Council, members of the Government, and the leaders of
relevant structures.

The President of Armenia presented the details of his visit to
Brussels and raised certain issues related to a further enhancement
of the relations with the European Union.

Serzh Sargsyan noted that the agenda of his visit to Brussels was
pretty packed – in three days he held over twenty meetings with almost
the entire leadership of the European Union. He also gave a number
of interviews to some of the leading European news agencies.

The main impression of the President of these meetings was that the
European structures, their representatives are obviously pleased with
the level of relations with Armenia and the accomplished works. Second,
there is good will to continue and deepen the relations, and to
implement more daring programs.

The President said that naturally during these meetings discussed
were also more general issues, the Armenian-Turkish relations and the
NK peace process, however the main topic of the discussions was the
EU-Armenia action plan and the specific problems which in Armenia’s
opinion the EU should address on the road toward a deeper bilateral
cooperation.

Stressing the desire of our country to get more connected with Europe,
Serzh Sargsyan said, "on this stage the Armenian side proposes to
soften up the visa regime to facilitate the contacts between our
citizens, to create equal opportunities for trade, which would
facilitate granting a market economy status to our country, and
the signing of the trade agreement." According to the President,
the agreement has been reached to easy up the visa regime and to
establish presently in our country, together with the EU Committee
for Justice and Freedoms, a subcommittee to deal with the reforms
in the judicial and legal areas. The agreement has been reached with
EU Commissioner for Trade to dispatch a group of expert-advisers to
Armenia in December. Together with the Armenian officials they will
develop a precise time table of actions. Another document has been
signed on sending a group of EU advisers to Armenia to facilitate
the implementation of the action plan.

Stressing that there was a mutual willingness to deepen the relations,
the President of Armenia said, "This work should be treated by us
not as a program, which we have vowed to implement but rather as a
work which provides us the opportunity to continue with the reforms
in our country. And it is indeed an instrument for reformation."

In Serzh Sargsyan’s opinion, the new plan of actions most probably
will be included in the framework of the EU Eastern Policy and will
have two distinctive features: first, the component of the regional
cooperation will become more prominent and highlighted, and the second,
participants to the Policy will be provided with different formats and
different levels of evolvement, depending on the country’s readiness
to deliver.

The President of Armenia instructed to work on the program with the
utmost seriousness and tasked the Ministers and the Heads of relevant
structures to keep under personal control the activities carried out
in their respective areas.

At the meeting, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edward Nalbandian
presented the process of the implementation of the program and
activities conducted during 2008 on different directions, noting that
these activities were started back in 2007. Minister Nalbandian also
said that Armenia would present the report on the activities conducted
in 2008 on December 9 in Brussels, during the EU Ministerial meeting.

The Secretary of the National Security Council, Arthur Baghdassarian
spoke about the activities of the interagency commission on cooperation
with the European structures and noted that based on the proposals of
all concerned Ministries and agencies a new, rather ambitious plan
for action has been set up which could become a good base for the
discussions and future cooperation.