ArmInfo. In the near future the "Road Map" of actions arising from Armenia-EU the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership (CEPA) will be finalized and presented to the European partners for evaluation. This was announced by Deputy Foreign Minister Karen Nazaryan on November 6 during hearings in parliamentary commissions.
According to the Deputy Minister, Armenia-EU relations have entered a rather intensive phase. In the near future, this process will require active, purposeful work and concentration of forces by all the stakeholders.
Nazaryan stressed that ratification by the Armenian Parliament (of CEPA) was a key event in relations between Armenia and the EU. Due to this, from June 1, the provisional application of almost 80% of the provisions of this document began. The remaining 20% also suggest visa liberalization, which is currently being postponed for objective reasons. In particular, the transfer to the Armenian side of the corresponding roadmap from the EU is delayed, which will be a beacon on the way to achieving the cherished goal - the liberalization of the visa regime with the EU.
As of today, as the representative of the Foreign Ministry pointed out, several EU member states - the Baltic States, Denmark, Bulgaria, Romania, Luxembourg, Poland and Estonia - have already ratified the Agreement. Nevertheless, according to Nazaryan, the process is slightly slow in coming, despite the fact that the republic's diplomatic missions in their countries of residence are actively working to stimulate the process. This is due to the fact that in some countries the process of ratification of such documents requires its passage not only in the legislature, but also in the executive. As Nazaryan noted back in July of this year during his visit to Brussels, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan assured European partners that the new government has the political will to fully implement its commitments, which are aimed at democratizing the country, establishing a civil society, fighting corruption and modernizing the economy. As the Deputy Minister stressed, the full application of the CEPA will allow reaching a qualitatively new level of bilateral relations. "I hope that by mid-2019 we will have a fully ratified document," he said. The Armenian side also hopes to liberalize the visa regime with the EU already in 2020. To note, the Framework Agreement on a Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership between Armenia and the EU was signed on November 24 in Brussels. The Armenian parliament unanimously ratified the agreement in April 2018.