THE EU ADVISORY GROUP IN THE GOVERNMENT

T uesday, 19 January 2010

RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan welcomed the Advisory Group of the
European Union, led by head of EU delegation in Armenia, Ambassador
Raul Lutzenberger.

Greeting the guests, the Prime Minister appreciated these already
traditional meetings with the Advisory Group meant to allow the two
sides to sum up what has been done and outline further action.

Down to the meeting agenda, the parties have touched upon the
government’s anti-corruption policy, tax and customs reforms with a
focus on governance transparency.

Next, the parties looked at the ongoing preparations for the signing
of a free trade agreement and the efforts aimed at ensuring unimpeded
movement of goods and introducing the GSP+ system in Armenia. They
went on to discuss the status of intellectual property protection
measures and possibilities for the development of small and medium-size
enterprise. Reference was made of public debt management activities,
capacity building within the Ministry of Finance. In this context,
the need for providing appropriate training to government experts
was emphasized on either side.

In conclusion, the Prime Minister thanked the members of the group
for valuable advice by noting that separate meetings will be held to
formulate specific recommendations for each individual problem.