ARMENIA-EU RELATIONS SHOULD NOT BE OPPOSED TO ARMENIA-RUSSIA RELATIONS
PanARMENIAN.Net
10.02.2010 13:44 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In on the road to European integration Armenia
works in three areas: correspondence of laws, rules and standards to
European standards, political cooperation with EU bodies and social
cooperation, realized with NGOs, Victor Engibaryan , the chairman of
the European Movement of Armenia told a press conference in Yerevan.
"In the first area our government works very intensely and
successfully, political cooperation with the EU, I think, will open
a new era in the Armenia – EU relations ," Engibaryan said.
Speaking about the Armenia-EU-Russia triangle Viktor Yengibaryan said,
that Armenia-EU relations should not be opposed to Armenia-Russia
relations. " We must clearly define our relations with Russia and
the EU, and to understand who and in what sphere we work with" Victor
Engibaryan said.
The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 27
member states,] located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional
integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1
November 1993 upon the foundations of the European Communities. With
over 500 million citizens,[11] the EU combined generates an estimated
30% share (US$ 18.4 trillion in 2008) of the nominal gross world
product and about 22% (US$15.2 trillion in 2008) of the PPP gross
world product.
The EU has developed a single market through a standardised system of
laws which apply in all member states, ensuring the free movement of
people, goods, services, and capital. It maintains common policies
on trade, agriculture, fisheries] and regional development. Sixteen
member states have adopted a common currency, the euro, constituting
the Eurozone. The EU has developed a limited role in foreign policy,
having representation at the World Trade Organization, G8, G-20 major
economies and at the United Nations. It enacts legislation in justice
and home affairs, including the abolition of passport controls by
the Schengen Agreement between 22 EU and 3 non-EU states.
As an international organisation, the EU operates through a hybrid
system of supranationalism and intergovernmentalism.[18][19][20] In
certain areas, decisions are made through negotiation between member
states, while in others, independent supranational institutions are
responsible without a requirement for unanimity between member states.
Important institutions of the EU include the European Commission,
the Council of the European Union, the European Council, the Court
of Justice of the European Union, and the European Central Bank. The
European Parliament is elected every five years by member states’
citizens, to whom the citizenship of the European Union is guaranteed.
The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community
formed among six countries in 1951 and the Treaty of Rome formed in
1957 by the same states. Since then, the EU has grown in size through
enlargement, and in power through the addition of policy areas to
its remit.