AGBU Europe
131, Rue Stassart,
1050 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 27 62 67 97
Fax: +32 25 02 62 30
Contact: Anush Nazaryan
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +32 2 762 67 07
Web:
EU News from AGBU Europe
Also in this newsletter:
1. Eastern Partnership Year Two: Opportunities for Armenia.
2. EU Council: Turkey Must Step Up the Pace of Reforms… and Ratify the
Armenia-Turkey Protocols
3. Vacancy: Internship at AGBU Europe’s EU office
The Nagorno Karabagh Campaign in short:
‘[The European Parliament] asks the Commission and Mr Semneby to extend
the same kind of aid and information dissemination to Nagorno-Karabakh.’
European Parliament, 17, January, 2008
– The small republic of Nagorno Karabakh suffers from a de-facto EU
boycott.
– The EU should engage with the people of Karabakh, provide humanitarian
assistance, promote confidence-building measures and help prevent war.
– Working with the people of Karabakh is a humanitarian imperative and
serves the interest of peace.
– Nagorno Karabakh Armenians secured their independence after a war,
between 1991 and 1994. An estimated 30 000 died on both sides. 17 years
after the end of the war, the territory’s independence has not been
recognized internationally and its status is still under negotiation.
What you can do:
– Raise the issue with a Member of Parliament, government official, civil
society organization or journalist
– Join the campaign on
facebook: []
http://ap ps.facebook.com/causes/300323
-Visit our campaign homepage at:
[ ]
– Contact us to find out more or help: [mailto:[email protected]]
anazaryan@agbueu rope.org
– More information and resources are available at:
[ arabakh]
o-kharabakh
AGBU Europe Campaign:
Europe Must Support Karabakh and Peace
Nicolas Tavitian
International co-operation and conflict resolution are among the European
Union’s core values. The reconciliation between France and Germany after
World War II is the ultimate reference in conflict transformation, and
served as inspiration for many an attempt at resolving disputes since 1991.
Then, as now, the European institutions combined economic development with
international cooperation to promote understanding between nations. Today,
the EU funds projects everywhere in Europe and in its neighbourhood,
including in conflict areas. It is particularly keen on promoting
cooperation across borders in all regions of Europe, including in the
fractious Balkans, in Cyprus or between Greece and Turkey for instance.
With creditable single-mindedness, the EU has promoted humanitarian or
development assistance in conflict zones.
In conflict areas, the Union also promotes «confidence-building»
initiatives and programmes aimed at supporting the civilian populations who
suffered from conflicts and their aftermath.
In Ossetia and Abkhazia, for instance, millions have been spent on
economic assistance. After the war of August 2008 between Georgia and
Russia, the EU redoubled its support with reconstruction and humanitarian
assistance [1].
In sum, Europe is present everywhere in Europe. Except in Karabakh. Since
the end of the war over the territory, in 1994, the European Union has
accepted no contact with the authorities of Karabakh or with its civil
society, has granted absolutely no humanitarian or economic support to
Karabakh and has authorized no confidence-building measures. The EU’s
special representative for the South Caucasus, Peter Semneby, has never
been to Karabakh, though he regularly travels to Sukhumi (Abkhazia) and to
Tskhinvali (South Ossetia). Two republics which EU Member States do not
recognize as independent countries any more than they recognize Karabakh.
Since the war, Azerbaijan’s approach has been to blockade Karabakh and
exclude it from negotiations about its own future. But Azerbaijan’s
policy of isolating Karabakh is neither effective nor justifiable. If
Azerbaijan is serious about conflict resolution, it will have to accept to
talk with the leadership of Karabakh proper and to engage in
confidence-building between the societies of Azerbaijan and of Karabakh.
[The] Azerbaijani army and society should be ready to liberate our lands
from occupants any time in every possible way. Heydar Aliyev, President of
Azerbaijan. 25, December, 2009
Yet the EU itself is acting as if it had joined this boycott, in stark
contradiction with its values and practices in almost every other part of
the world.
Isolating Karabakh is an ineffective policy from the point of view of
conflict resolution and reconciliation; it is also immoral. It is now
universally recognized that populations should not be held hostage to
international conflict. It is this logic which has led the Union to provide
support to populations, regardless of their country’s regime. The EU even
funded humanitarian aid in such pariah states as Iraq under Saddam Hussein,
in Myanmar and in North Korea as well as in non recognized states such as
Transnistria, Kosovo and many others.
In stark contrast with EU policy, the USA, for one, do provide
humanitarian aid to projects in Karabakh. The US Congress voted a new
budget of 8 million in December 2009.
The argument in favour of engaging with Karabakh and its society is
overwhelming and AGBU Europe is now running a campaign urging the European
institutions to establish contact with the leadership in Karabakh without
waiting any longer and to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of
Karabakh.
The organisation is also calling upon the EU to promote
confidence-building measures between Armenians in Karabakh and Azeris.
Without such confidence-building measures, the Minsk Group peace
negotiations are unlikely to bring about a lasting peace, regardless of the
skill or imagination of the diplomats involves.
Additionally, in view of the threats of war repeatedly made by the
leadership of Azerbaijan, AGBU also calls upon the European institutions to
consider deploying a presence on the contact line between the Armenian and
Azeri soldiers. This should help prevent the resumption of a war.
AGBU began its work in support of Karabakh at EU level in 2008. The
organisation hosted the first visit by NK representatives to the EU
institutions since 1999. It has also recently had the opportunity to hold a
round table to bring to the attention of EU decision-makers the numerous
instances of destruction of Armenian heritage which have recently taken
place in Azerbaijan.
Raising these concerns has already borne some fruit. The European
Commission organized an informal meeting bringing together representatives
of civil society in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Karabakh and it is currently
studying measures to be set in place to help promote exchanges between
Armenians and Azeris. But much remains to be done and AGBU Europe calls on
all people of goodwill to contribute to disseminating its message to
decision-makers in EU Member States.
Of all "non-recognized" territories in Europe, Karabakh has suffered the
most from a brutal repression, from the war, and from a 17-year blockade.
It deserves the humanitarian support of the European Union and will obtain
it, if its case is made.
1. A complete, official report on the subject is available at:
[ Nov09.doc]
ammes/Nov09.doc
EU Council : Turkey Must Step Up the Pace of Reforms… and Ratify the
Armenia-Turkey Protocols
In December 2009, the EU Council of Ministers adopted its annual statement
on EU enlargement, covering accession negotiations with Turkey.
While recognizing some progress, the Council also expressed concern about
the pace of reform and "invited Turkey to step up the pace of reforms and
to implement measures which have been started." The Council insisted that
"further efforts to ensure that Turkey fully meets the Copenhagen criteria
are required in a number of areas including freedom of expression, freedom
of the press, freedom of religion in law and in practice for all religious
communities, respect for property rights, trade union rights, rights of
persons belonging to minorities, civilian oversight of the military and
women’s and children’s rights, anti-discrimination and gender equality."
The Council also "welcomes the significant diplomatic efforts made [by
Turkey] to normalise relations with Armenia, resulting in the historic
signature of protocols for the normalisation of relations in October 2009.
It looks forward to the ratification and implementation of the protocols as
soon as possible."
The Commission report which informs this resolution provides an
instructive catalogue of Turkey’s shortcomings from the point of view of
EU law and practice.
In connection with Turkey’s treatment of Armenians, it refers to the
judicial system’s shortcomings in the context of the trial of the
assassins of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink; to remaining restrictions on
freedom of expression in Turkey, but also to the public apology by Turkish
intellectuals for what they called the "Great Catastrophe" (the 1915
Armenian Genocide); to discrimination against Christians in the courts and
to the reform of the law on (non-Muslim) foundations, to continuing
restrictions on the property rights of Christians, and more.
For further information:
–
[ docs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/EN/genaff/111830.pdf]
8/12/2009 Council Conclusions
–
[ ess_corner/key-documents/reports_oct_2009_en.htm]
EC report on Turkey’s Progress Towards Accession
–
[ getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P6-TA-2009-0134+0+ DOC+XML+V0//EN]
The European Parliament’s resolution on Turkey’s Progress Towards
Accession
Eastern Partnership Year Two: Opportunities for Armenia On their last
Summit in 2009, on December 11, EU leaders celebrated the Eastern
Partnership, launched in May 2009, and `noted with satisfaction all the
recent steps and initiatives taken to strengthen and deepen the relations
between the EU and the Partners’.
The EaP is without a question a step forward in Armenia’s integration
into the European project and provides a number of new and significant
opportunities. The EU is considering an Association Agreement with Armenia.
This is also of practical importance, not least before this particular
agreement if successfully concluded, should establish free trade between
Armenia and European Union and bring Armenia fully into the European
economic sphere, the world’s largest economic block. The prospect of an
association agreement is also symbolically important, as an association
agreement can be a preliminary to EU accession.
Negotiations to make travelling to EU countries easier for Armenian
citizens are also on the cards, a welcome step, as current visa
requirements and procedures remain a hindrance to cooperation and
exchanges.
At a meeting with European Association working with European Commission
on the EaP, AGBU Europe expressed their support for the EaP and its
objectives. AGBU Europe also offered its support to the European Commission
in a recent letter signed jointly by seven European civil society
organizations in contributing to public involvement in the policy’s
development.
The overall purpose of the Eastern Partnership is to enhance cooperation
with the countries of the EU’s Eastern neighborhood – Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The policy was developed
following an initial proposal from Poland and Sweden.
The countries of the Eastern Partnership are strategically important for
the EU and improving their political and economic situation is a one of the
project’s priorities. The policy therefore envisages assistance to
domestic reforms and state-building in the six countries concerned,
reinforced relations through the negotiation of bilateral agreements and a
new multilateral framework of dialogue between EU and participating
countries aiming to develop common initiatives. Four `platforms’ bring
all 6 countries to work together on the following aspects:
1. Democracy, good governance and stability;
2. Economic integration and convergence with EU sectoral policies;
3. Energy security
4. Contacts between people.
The EaP, like the ENP before it, is not officially a step towards EU
membership, but it is an important platform for institutional integration
and a step towards membership prospects.
Armenia in particular welcomed the initiative, which it considers an
important step for establishing closer cooperation with its neighbours and
with the EU. Among other benefits the EaP will provide an opportunity to
strengthen the EU’s contribution to political, economic, legislative
reforms in Armenia.
In addition to cooperation at governmental level the EaP’s multilateral
framework promotes the active participation of civil society in
policy-making and implementation. A special Civil Society Forum first
assembled in November 2009 in Brussels and Parliamentary Assembly will
accompany the process.
The EaP’s official website is:
[ rn]
/index_en.htm
Traineeship in AGBU Europe, EU Office
The AGBU Europe EU office is seeking a trainee to support its
communication activities. The duration of the traineeship is between 3 and
5 months.
Main responsibilities:
– To update the data-base of contacts of the organization
– Correspondance and networking
– Assist with the logistical assignments for events organization
-Support working cooperatively with other organizations
-To support the coordinator of the organization’s EU office with
administrative work
Required qualifications:
– He/she should preferably be a last year student or graduate of political
science, international relations or any other field relevant to the work
assignments of the organization
– Good command of written and spoken English is necessary
– Dynamic person, good team player and with strong sense of
responsibility
We offer the opportunity to play a part in a dynamic organization, work
with challenging issu es and gain experience of public affairs with the EU.
Deadline for application: 5, February, 2010
Period of internship: 3- 5 months
Interviews: 18-19, February, 2010
Starting date: 1, March, 2010
Remuneration : a stipend to cover livingexpenses in Brussels
Please send a motivation letter and your CV attached to the following
email: [mailto:[email protected]] [email protected]
As an independent, non governmental organization AGBU Europe is dependent
on the involvement of all those who share its purpose and objectives. Help,
donations and feedback are always welcome. Please contact :
Anush Nazaryan
131, rue de Stassart,
Brussels,Belgium
[mailto:anazaryan@agbu europe.org] [email protected] Tel: :+32 27
62 67 97
131,rue Stassart,1050,Brussels,Belgium.T:+32 27 62 67 97,F:+32 25 02 62
30,E:[email protected],W:agbueurope.org
T his message was sent by: Anush Nazaryan, 131, Stassart street, Brussels, Brussels 1050, Belgium
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