EU, ARMENIA CALL FOR GENOCIDE RECOGNITION, REGRET THE HUMAN COST OF KARABAKH CONFLICT
14:49, 20 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan
The EU-Armenia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee held the 15th
meeting in Yerevan. Upon the conclusion of the meeting the Committee
adopted a Final Statement and Recommendations.
The Parliamentary Cooperation Committee
Recalls the historic European Parliament resolution of 1987 on the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide and, on the eve of the 100
year commemorations, calls on all the Member States to acknowledge
it, and encourages the Member States and the EU Institutions to
contribute further to its recognition; pays tribute to the memory of
the innocent victims; is however encouraged by the fact that the issue
has, in recent years, become the focus of open and public debate in
Turkey itself;
strongly hopes that, on this occasion, the legacy of the past could
be overcome by the normalisation of Turkey – Armenia relations,
without any preconditions and with the opening of the unilaterally
closed border; therefore supports initiatives aimed at promotion of
regional cooperation, in the belief they can contribute to the ending
of isolation of any country in the region;
fully supports the progressive differentiation provided for within the
EaP framework – insofar as it matches the partners’ varying levels
of ambition and capacity, but nonetheless believes that a regional
approach is essential for the EU to contribute effectively to the
economic development and stability of the South Caucasus; in this
respect, underlines the value it attaches to unconditional access
for EU representatives to the region, including Nagorno-Karabakh;
deeply regrets the human cost of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and
would expect from the EU to play a more active role in supporting
further confidence building measures to spread the ideas of peace,
reconciliation and trust among all sides; thus condemns actions
taken to curb contacts between civil society and intellectuals from
all sides;
believes there can be no alternative to a peaceful solution in
accordance with relevant international law and the principles of the UN
Charter and the Helsinki Final Act,; supports the negotiation process
under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group and calls for a greater
political commitment from all parties involved, while firmly deploring
all violations of the cease-fire agreement and reminding the value of
confidence-building measures, including withdrawal of snipers from the
line of contact, in accordance with OSCE recommendations; underlines
that many of the suggestions contained in European Parliament’s
resolutions remain pertinent; expresses its support to the OSCE
Minsk Group Co-Chairs proposal on the creation of a mechanism of
investigation of incidents.
calls for the pursuit of EU-Armenia cooperation in all possible areas,
welcoming the joint commitment issued by the last Cooperation Council;
regrets, nonetheless that the scoping exercise has not yet allowed
to establish a legally binding contractual basis for the future of
these relations, especially given the obsolete nature of the 1999
Partnership and Cooperation Agreement;
stresses the importance of reviewing and updating the existing basis
of relations as noted in the EU-Armenia Joint Statement adopted in
the margins of Vilnius Eastern Partnership Summit in November 2013;
recalls the remarkable energy and dedication shown by both sides at
the time of previous negotiations, and hopes a similar effort will be
made ahead of the Riga summit; underlines that both EU and Armenia
have now identified the areas where cooperation is possible despite
Armenia’s engagement in the Eurasian Economic Union; believes that the
future agreement should provide a forward-looking framework for the
future development of relations between Armenia and the EU, enhancing
and strengthening political relations and economic cooperation;
welcomes the EU-Armenia Human Rights Dialogue which took place on 11
December 2014, focusing on issues such as the fundamental freedoms,
including the freedom of assembly and association, the development
of civil society, the rule of law, mobility, judicial reform, the
continued fight against corruption, the independence of the media
and the fight against torture; calls on Armenia to implement all the
recommendations issued by the OSCE/ODIHR election observation missions;
highlights that these issues are expected to be examined also in
the framework of the ongoing Scorecard exercise, to be presented to
the EP on 1 January 2016 given the enhanced role played by the EP
in the reformed EU monitoring procedure of the GSP+ scheme; reminds
thatGSP+ was renewed for Armenia from 1 January 2014, with this trade
instrument precisely aimed at encouraging the effective implementation
of core UN/ILO international conventions on human and labour rights,
sustainable development and good governance.
takes note that the EU-Armenia Visa Facilitation and Readmission
Agreements came into force in January 2014, which will enhance
people to people contacts between Armenia and the EU and strengthen
cooperation in the area of mobility and management of migration;
and notes with satisfaction steps taken towards management of the
Visa Facilitation and Readmission agreements and endorses further
steps towards launching a Dialogue on Visa Liberalisation, aimed at
a visa-free travel for the citizens of Armenia in due course;
welcomes the commitment of Armenia and the European Union to further
develop and strengthen the cooperation in all areas of mutual interest;
recognizes that the EU’s support and assistance provided to Armenia
over the years has been instrumental for the effective implementation
and sustainability of the reform process and institutional capacity
building; and calls upon EU’s continued support reflecting the pace
of Armenia’s reforms and economic needs in line with the principles
of differentiation and
more for more;