Monday, October 16 2017 13:50

ArmInfo. "We hope that the European Union will show political will in the direction of the soonest signing of the Agreement on an expanded and comprehensive  partnership with Armenia," head of the parliamentary commission on  foreign affairs Armen Ashotyan stated in an interview with ArmInfo,  stressing that the administration of such documents by the European  The sides are quite complex, certain technical issues may arise.

He reminded that the document should be signed by all EU countries,  meanwhile, many of them are currently in the pre-election cycle.  "Nevertheless, I hope that the EU will show political will and the  document will be signed in the near future," he said, stressing that  Armenia is ready to sign the document at the upcoming Eastern  Partnership summit in November, and this was announced by the highest  the country's leadership. Ashotyan also stressed the importance of  the fact that the document fixes the provision on the necessity of a  peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict under the auspices of  the OSCE Minsk Group. "This means that the EU officially emphasizes  its disagreement with the destructive policy of Baku in the Karabakh  settlement," he said.

Let us note that the document consists of 357 pages and 386 chapters  and regulates the general principles, approaches and values of  political and economic cooperation between Armenia and the EU. As for  the economic component of the document, it says that Armenia should  bring its economic policy in line with EU standards. In turn, the EU  undertakes to assist in ensuring the independence of the Central Bank  of Armenia, the stability of prices in the country's market, and its  financial reliability. In the political part of the document, the  emphasis is on simplifying the visa regime and starting a dialogue on  its liberalization with a view to stimulating mutual visits of RA and  EU citizens. The agreement also contains provisions on the Karabakh  conflict. 

The document stresses the importance of Armenia's readiness to settle  the Karabakh conflict peacefully and the need for its early  resolution within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group. The document  also talks about Armenia's obligation to close the nuclear power  plant and build a new one. Note that it was originally announced that  the document was signed in November at the Eastern Partnership summit  in Riga, but now many experts predict that the signing will not take  place in the announced terms.  Initially, the parties also did not  announce the promulgation of the document until its final signing,  but by mutual consent it was decided to familiarize the Armenian and  EU societies with it before signing.