On October 4, the Eastern Partnership Senior Officials Meeting took place in Brussels. In attendance were official delegations of the European Commission, the European External Action Service, Member States and Partner Countries. This was the first meeting of this very format summoned after the official launch of the revised architecture of the EaP.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Garen Nazarian reiterated in his statement the new Armenian Government’s determination to further deepen the cooperation with the EU.

He drew the attention of those present that as Armenia becomes bolder on resolutely fighting corruption, consolidating independent judiciary, eradicating monopolies and creating competitive business environment, we expect new targeted assistance projects from the EU. Referring to the implementation of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between Armenia and the EU, Garen Nazarian highlighted its crucial importance for both the Armenian public and the authorities in the context of the ongoing modernization and reform efforts in the country. He informed that the Interagency Commission, chaired by Armenian VPM, has started to work out the implementation roadmap to monitor and assess the application of the agreement and engage also the parliament and civil society in this demanding process.  

With respect to the launch of the visa liberalization dialogue, the Deputy Minister expressed hope, that the EU Member States will duly evaluate the progress made by Armenia, namely towards the effective implementation of the Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements to fulfill the mutual commitment on establishing the visa free regime with Armenia by the year 2020.

With regards the "20 Deliverables for 2020" document, endorsed last year in Brussels, Garen Nazarian noted that it is also directed towards the regional cooperation and dialogue not only between the EU and the Eastern Neighbours, but also among the EaP partner countries themselves.

He also stressed that Armenia is fully committed to the efforts aimed at regional stability and security, and believes that conflicts must be solved exclusively by peaceful means, based on the well-known norms and principles of international law, including the equal rights and self-determination of peoples. In this connection he expressed the confidence that the EU will continue to remain faithful to its stated commitment on this type of sensitive matters.

In conclusion, Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister emphasized that the ongoing developments in the country have created a more conducive environment for deeper cooperation and enhanced partnership with the EU.