Thursday, May 31 2018 13:01

ArmInfo.In 2017-2020, the total amount of Armenia's financial assistance from the European Union will be 176 million euros. On May 31, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Armen Papikyan stated during the discussions on the implementation of  the state budget of the country in 2017.

According to him, only in 2018 the republic expects to get 36 million  euro from the EU. At present, the deputy minister continued,  negotiations are under way to increase this amount by another 10  million euros.  Basically, the funds provided will have the nature of  grants. They will be aimed at implementing projects in such areas as  strengthening governance institutions, economic development and  strengthening market opportunities, creating competitive conditions,  increasing energy efficiency, protecting the environment, and  combating climate change. The Deputy Minister noted that the funds  will be provided within the framework of the Comprehensive and  Expanded Partnership Agreement concluded on November 24, 2017 in  Brussels.

Armen Papikyan reminded that at present this agreement has been  ratified by three Baltic countries. He agreed with the need to ratify  the remaining states before the gates to the European Parliament,  which will be held in 2019. However, some provisions of the Agreement  already apply. The Deputy Minister did not rule out that the amount  of the EU's financial assistance to Armenia could be increased, this  could happen in the implementation of large-scale reforms. "As is  known, the EU proceeds from the formula" more for more, "and in this  context everything depends on Armenia," Armen Papikyan said. He  agreed that the EU had set a number of conditions for the republic,  including the solution of the issue of the Armenian nuclear power  plant and ensuring the complete independence of the Central Bank. At  the moment, the deputy minister continued, there are active  negotiations on the liberalization of the visa regime.

RA Minister of Finance Atom Janjugazyan informed the deputies that in  2017 Armenia received from the EU grants worth 14.6 billion drams,  which is 43% of all grant programs.