Relations between Armenia and the EU are becoming more stable, more institutionalized, and more long-term. This was stated by Arman Yeghoyan, a member of parliament and chairman of the Armenian Parliament's Standing Committee on European Integration, in an interview with BMG's Yerevan bureau.
Yeghoyan responded to the recent decisions made at the EU Council level to provide Armenia with assistance through the European Peace Facility and to start a dialogue on visa liberalization.
“We have been waiting for the decision to launch the visa liberalization dialogue for several years, five or six years. This is an outstanding achievement for us. I would assess it as such, and we are happy that this decision was made at the EU Council level. Now it is time to work on the dialogue itself and fulfill all the necessary requirements so that actual visa liberalization can happen as soon as possible,” said Arman Yeghoyan.
Regarding the European Peace Facility, Yeghoyan reminded that Armenia applied to use this tool about a year ago. “I repeat, this is a very important decision for us. We hope this will not be the last decision on this matter. This will pave the way for broader and deeper cooperation on security and peace-related measures,” he said.
He added that Yerevan is expanding and deepening relations with Brussels on a multidimensional scale, and security issues cannot be left aside. “We hope to achieve better goals in the future,” he said.
On July 17, the European Union, at the level of ambassadors of all member states, approved the European Commission's proposal to start negotiations with Armenia on visa liberalization.
These decisions were made against the backdrop of recent negotiations between Yerevan and Brussels. In October last year, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated in the European Parliament that Armenia is ready to be as close to the European Union as the European Union deems possible. A few months later, Pashinyan expressed doubts about whether the EU was ready to accept Armenia as a full member.
