ArmInfo. The stage of approval of the Armenia-EU comprehensive and expanded partnership agreement at the government level has already come to an end and it is preparing to be sent to the country's parliament for final ratification. French Ambassador to Armenia Jonathan Lacote said at a press conference in Yerevan on July 12, answering the question of ArmInfo, whether the date of Paris's ratification of the ACPA is known.
At the same time, he recalled that the French parliament consists of two chambers and the document must go through all stages of approval. At the same time, Lacote stressed that ACPA is aimed at strengthening cooperation between Armenia and the EU, and opens new opportunities for sectoral cooperation.
Answering a question about whether the change of power in Armenia will affect the process of liberalization of the visa regime for RA citizens, the French ambassador stated that, undoubtedly, the processes taking place in the country give a new dynamic to relations with Europe. "Implementation of important ACPA points, which was signed last fall, has started already on June 1, 2011. Of course, among them is the point on mobility and facilitation of people-to-people contacts, however, in order for the visa regime to be liberalized for Armenia I hope that the dialogue will begin when Europe is fully confident that Armenia has fulfilled all the points of the commitments made earlier, "he said.
The ambassador also informed that next week in Armenia there would be a group from the French agency on asylum issues, which will come to Yerevan with the purpose to get acquainted with the situation prevailing in the country on the spot. According to him, this will allow later, when considering the applications of Armenian citizens to have a more complete picture and make a more objective decision. Lacote stated that France wants to avoid any manifestations caused by the illegal presence of Armenian citizens in the territory of the French Republic.