Armenian president declares readiness to enhance cooperation with European Union
19.04.2018,
19:42
Armenia’s president Armen Sarkissian received today the head of the European Union Delegation to Armenia, ambassador Peter Switalski.
YEREVAN, April 19. /ARKA/. Armenia’s president Armen Sarkissian received today the head of the European Union Delegation to Armenia, ambassador Peter Switalski. Sarkissian’s press service said the president emphasized the importance of the further development of relations with the European Union, saying he was ‘ready to promote political dialogue with the EU, as well as cooperation in economy, mobility, effective governance and other areas of mutual interest."
Switalski was said to have welcomed the signing of the Armenian law on ratification of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Armenia, the EU and the European Atomic Energy Community.
The two men were said also to have exchanged thoughts on programs implemented in Armenia by the EU, increasing their effectiveness, priorities and new programs.
The CEPA was signed on November 24, 2017, at the fifth summit of the Eastern Partnership Program in Brussels. It will come into force after all 28 EU member states and Armenia ratify it. The first EU country to have ratified the agreement was Estonia.
Armenia and the EU were supposed to sign the Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) at a 2013 November Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius but on September 3 Armenia’s president Serzh Sargsyan announced that the country was going to become part of the Russian-led Customs Union.
In early October 2015 the EU Foreign Affairs Council authorized the European Commission and the High Representative to open negotiations on a new legal basis for relations with Armenia. The new agreement will replace the current agreement on partnership and cooperation between the EU and Armenia.
Among other important aspects, CEPA has a provision on the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the basis of norms and principles of international law. Besides, CEPA does not limit Armenia's international cooperation and participation in other integration processes, particularly, its membership in the Eurasian Economic Union.-0-
Switalski was said to have welcomed the signing of the Armenian law on ratification of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Armenia, the EU and the European Atomic Energy Community.
The two men were said also to have exchanged thoughts on programs implemented in Armenia by the EU, increasing their effectiveness, priorities and new programs.
The CEPA was signed on November 24, 2017, at the fifth summit of the Eastern Partnership Program in Brussels. It will come into force after all 28 EU member states and Armenia ratify it. The first EU country to have ratified the agreement was Estonia.
Armenia and the EU were supposed to sign the Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) at a 2013 November Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius but on September 3 Armenia’s president Serzh Sargsyan announced that the country was going to become part of the Russian-led Customs Union.
In early October 2015 the EU Foreign Affairs Council authorized the European Commission and the High Representative to open negotiations on a new legal basis for relations with Armenia. The new agreement will replace the current agreement on partnership and cooperation between the EU and Armenia.
Among other important aspects, CEPA has a provision on the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the basis of norms and principles of international law. Besides, CEPA does not limit Armenia's international cooperation and participation in other integration processes, particularly, its membership in the Eurasian Economic Union.-0-
