Hearing of proposal to hold referendum on Armenia`s application to  join EU divorced from geopolitical realities

ArmInfo.The inclusion on the agenda of discussions in the Armenian Parliament on June 21 of the  issue "a proposal to hold a referendum on Armenia's application to join the European Union" is artificial and divorced from geopolitical realities. This is stated in the statement of the opposition faction  "Armenia".

The faction recalled that this issue was put on the agenda of the  National Assembly of Armenia in parallel with an extraordinary  meeting convened by the opposition factions on the topic "Resignation  of the government and the need to form a new government," in which  the ruling Civil Contract party refused to participate, once again  violating the Constitution. 

"The purpose of these hearings is to divert public attention from the  real agenda of overthrowing the current government.

There is an opinion that the real goal of the authorities is to hold  a referendum on amending the Constitution, which can be combined with  a referendum on Armenia's application for membership in the European  Union. This is being done in order to satisfy the Turkish-Azerbaijani  demand by amending the Constitution under the guise of EU  membership," the Armenia faction said in a statement.

"The authorities and the authors of the project must, first of all,  honestly inform the public and answer the following question: should  Armenia leave the EAEU, given that the EU is primarily a customs  union?  Taking into account the existing trade and economic relations  of Armenia, the structure of the economy and foreign trade , such a  step could be very harmful for the Armenian economy.

The issue of membership in the European Union can be resolved  exclusively through appropriate mutual agreements reached during the  EU-Armenia negotiations. The possible lack of a positive response  from the EU to its application for membership through a referendum  would be a serious blow to the country's reputation. It is no  coincidence that the former CIS states that are candidates for EU  membership - Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia - did not hold referendums to  submit their applications.

With such initiatives, the authorities will continue to split the  society, which will lead to new splits with anti-Russian and  anti-European labels," the statement says.