Wednesday, March 13 2024 11:50

ArmInfo. Back in 2022, based on the request of the Armenian side, the EU Council made an unprecedented urgent decision to deploy a Civilian Mission of the EU Monitoring Capacities on the interstate border of Armenia and Azerbaijan for a period of two months, RA Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Paruyr Hovhannisyan stated at the sitting of the Standing Committee on European Integration on March 12.

The latter was deployed along the eastern border of Armenia from  October 20 to December 19, 2022. On January 23, 2023, the EU Council  made a second decision to deploy a new Civilian EU Monitoring Mission  in Armenia for a period of two years from the start of its mandate.  Moreover, on December 11, 2023, the EU Council made a decision to  expand the composition of the Civilian Mission, which made it  possible to increase the monitoring capacities of the mission along  the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. This was stated by the RA Deputy  Minister of Foreign Affairs Paruyr Hovhannisyan at the sitting of the  Standing Committee on European Integration on March 12. On the agenda  was the draft law on Ratifying the Agreement between the Republic of  Armenia and the European Union on the status of the European Union  Mission in Armenia (EUMA).

"The deployment of the EU Civilian Mission in Armenia is aimed at  establishing lasting peace and ensuring stability in the region. The  Armenian side attaches great importance both to this and to all the  initiatives aimed at deepening cooperation in the security sector  with the European Union," Paruyr Hovhannisyan noted, informing that  the EU has launched civilian missions in a number of European,  African, and Asian countries since 2003 by operating 37 civilian and  military missions. Currently, there are 21 missions: 12 civilian and  9 military missions. "It can be noticed that the Civilian Mission  contributed to the reduction of incidents: The relevant EU  institutions, the member states are more informed about the  situation. At the same time, the presence of the observers creates a  more positive psychological atmosphere for the population," the  Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs underlined. According to the key  rapporteur, the smooth operation of the Civilian Mission is important  not only from the viewpoint of ensuring stability on the eastern  borders of Armenia, but also from the perspective of the rapid  processes of rapprochement of EU-Armenia political relations.

Paruyr Hovhannisyan answered the MPs' questions by presenting  clarifications regarding the number, functions, and roles of the  representatives of the Civilian Mission, highlighting the continuity  of the multi- vector policy in the field of security.

The debated draft was endorsed. It was proposed to include it in the  draft agenda of the regular sittings.