ArmInfo. Armenia and Austria will cooperate on the issue of readmission of persons residing in the European Union without appropriate permission. The Standing Committee on Foreign Relations, RA National Assembly, approved the government resolution on the ratification of an Armenian-Austrian protocol.
According to the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Arpine Sargsyan, the protocol was signed on July 18, 2023. Yerevan signs similar documents with various member states of the European Union. According to the current situation, protocols with 7 EU countries have entered into force. These documents, as the Deputy Minister noted, serve as a good basis for starting negotiations on visa liberalization between Yerevan and Brussels and moving the issue into a constructive field. The preconditions for starting negotiations are quite significant, one of which is cooperation in the readmission of citizens illegally residing in EU countries.
In general, Sargsyan continued, at the end of last year, 411 applications were received for the deportation of citizens of the country from EU states, of which Yerevan approved 92.99% of cases. But this does not mean that Armenia refuses to accept its citizens illegally residing in EU states. Moreover, it is necessary to create such conditions so that returning citizens can continue their activities in their homeland. In the past, there were social programs that related to the provision of residence and employment. This issue will be dealt with by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
Applications mainly come from countries such as Austria, Belgium, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Romania, France, Switzerland, Greece, Italy and Norway.