Eu-Armenia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee
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EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT EU-ARMENIA PARLIAMENTARY COOPERATION COMMITTEE MINUTES of the TWELFTH MEETING 2-3 November 2011 Yerevan CONTENT 1. Welcome address by Mr Hovik ABRAHAMYAN, Chairman of the National 2 Assembly of the Republic of Armenia 2. Opening remarks by the Co-Chairs of the EU-Armenia PCC 2 3. Adoption of the draft agenda 3 4. Adoption of the minutes of the eleventh meeting of the EU-Armenia PCC held in Brussels on 1-2 December 2010 3 5. The state of play of relations between the EU and Armenia 3 - Political dialogue - Implementation of the ENP Action Plan - Negotiations on the EU-Armenia Association Agreement - Eastern Partnership - Mobility Partnership, Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements - DCFTA negotiations Statements by: - The Government of Armenia - The European Union 6. Political developments, reforms agenda in Armenia and EU-Armenia cooperation 5 - Political dialogue and last developments in Armenia - Reforms agenda in Armenia and EU-Armenia - The fight against corruption 7. Regional issues 9 - The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict - Regional cooperation and Armenia’s participation in the multilateral track of the Eastern Partnership - Armenia-Turkey relations 8. Follow-up of the Final Statement and Recommendations adopted at the eleventh meeting of the EU-Armenia PCC held in Brussels on 2-3 December 2010 9 9. Dialogue with representatives of the civil society 14 10. Adoption of the Final Statement and Recommendations 16 11. Any other business 16 12. Date and place of next meeting 16 ANNEX: List of participants ________________ PV\EN.doc 1 PE 495.735 The 12th EU- Armenia PCC under Co-Chairmanship of Mrs. Naira Zohrabyan and Mr. Milan Cabrnoch started at 15:20. Points 1, 2 of the Agenda Mrs. Naira Zohrabyan, welcoming the committee members announced the opening of the 12th meeting and yielded the floor to Mr. Hovik Abrahamyan, President of the National Assembly of Armenia. Mr. Hovik Abrahamyan, the President of the National Assembly welcomed the guests mentioning that the delegation of the European Parliament is for the first time in Yerevan after the elections and wished success in the forthcoming works of the committee. Mr. Abrahamyan mentioned that the committee composed of the members of the European Parliament and the Parliament of Armenia established twelve years ago with the purpose of political dialogue managed to contribute to the creation of the joint agenda for Armenia and European Union due to its consistent work. He further mentioned that the European direction and approximation with the European Union are one of the priorities for the internal and external policies of Armenia and its authorities focus their contribution on the importance of the issues included at the current stage of European Union – Armenia cooperation agenda. These issues are found in particular in the domains of external policy, democracy, economic integration, mobility, human rights and energy. Mr. Abrahamyan dwelled upon the negotiation process of the Association Agreement mentioning that the nineteen chapters have been negotiated and provisionally closed. The President of the National Assembly briefly introduced the legislative work performed during the year, particularly dwelling upon the “Electoral Code”, and the new law on the “Freedom of Assembly”. Speaking about the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, the President of the N.A. mentioned that this assembly is the parliamentary tool of the Eastern Partnership policy, which shall create the necessary conditions to bring forward the political association and economic integration between the European Union and Eastern partners. The Euronest shall not be able to fully perform its activities if instead of the issues concerning development of the regional cooperation only issues regarding conflicts are continuously brought forward. Mr. Abrahamyan also stated that the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia was among the first that responded to the establishment of Euronest and that it promptly started activities necessary for this purpose. Mr. Abrahamyan concluded by expressing the hope that the meeting of the committee would be held in a constructive atmosphere and be marked by mutual understanding. Mr. Milan Cabrnoch, the co-chair of EU-Armenia parliamentary cooperation committee, welcomed the committee members. Mr Cabrnoch thanked for the friendly welcome and stressed the importance of the dialogue in parliamentary format. He pointed out that many of the people present also participated in the works of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, which was also an important platform for cooperation. Stressing the importance of the meeting, the Co-chair mentioned that the presence of a broad set of representatives of the political factions in the European Parliament (EP) proved the importance given to the mentioned relations. He expressed confidence that the outcome of this dialogue would serve as good grounds for deepening further cooperation. He pointed out that the EP delegation considered Armenia a part of Europe and that it would focus its contributions on the importance of the development of relations in all domains. Mr. Cabrnoch mentioned the Association Agreement, the creation of a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), visa ________________ PV\EN.doc 2 PE 495.735 facilitation and readmission, as well as the issues related to mobility of people, as topical issues. Discussions on these issues were at different stages of development. Conclusion and application of agreements would represent great progress in mutual relations. Mr Cabrnoch added that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict would undoubtedly also be touched upon, stressing that the EP supports the Minsk group format of conflict regulation. The current status quo was no longer acceptable. Mr. Cabrnoch mentioned that the EU wished to intensify its efforts, without in any way calling into question the activity of the Minsk group. Mr Cabrnoch stressed that the EU would support free and fair conduct of the upcoming elections in Armenia, which would make their results accepted by the international society and the Armenian people. He considered that the atmosphere in the dialogue made it perfect for significantly bringing forward the relations. Mr. Cabrnoch pointed out that the bilateral relations should be made deeper to contribute to human rights, democracy and economic development for the beautiful country Armenia. Points 3, 4, 5 of the Agenda Mrs Naira Zohrabyan suggested the adoption of the draft Agenda for the meeting and of the minutes of the 11th EU-Armenia PCC meeting, held on 1-2 December in Brussels. Discussions followed the adoption of the documents. Mr. Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, emphasized the parliamentary platform of cooperation and dialogue, pointing out that quite positive dynamics is observed in this field. He briefly touched upon the joint activities and mutual visits during the last year. With regard to the political dialogue between Armenia and the European Union Mr. Mnatsakanyan stressed the importance of the comprehensive reforms, set out first of all in the strategy of the reforms undertaken by the President of Armenia. These reforms related to all spheres of the institutional establishment of Armenia, particularly to the democratic institutions and administration system and the trade and economic system. They also concerned the social area. With regard to the negotiations of an Association Agreement, Mr. Mnatsakanyan noted that this agreement would replace the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and provide a new legal basis for the relations between Armenia and the European Union. Mr. Mnatsakanyan pointed out that the Association Agreement was a complicated document which would oblige the Armenian side to amend its legislation. He emphasized the interconnection between ongoing reforms in Armenia and the negotiations of the Association Agreement. He stated that the Armenian side was satisfied with the dynamics of negotiations and that the negotiations on 19 parts of the Agreement had already been concluded. The most topical issue was implementation of measures in Armenia related to the DCFTA. Mr Mnatsakanyan drew attention to the need for reforms inter alia in the phyto-sanitary, intellectual property and customs spheres. People-to-people contacts were the next important issue. Inter-governmental, as well as parliamentary cooperation displayed positive dynamics, though promotion of the cooperation between the societies. Bringing the societies closer to each other was extremely important. ________________ PV\EN.doc 3 PE 495.735 Mr. Mnatsakanyan also dwelled upon the progress in mutual relations and furtherance in these relations through financial tools. The National Indicative Programme for the EU's assistance, as well as macroeconomic tools worked. The maximum efficient use of financial tools was extremely important for Armenia, as it stimulated the pace of the reforms. Mr. Mnatsakanyan also dwelled upon the multilateral cooperation platform, emphasizing that relations had clearly shaped frames, for example, the Eastern Partnership. He pointed out that Armenia participated in the Warsaw summit. It focused its contribution on the importance of that platform which in its turn shaped the logic of the cooperation in the regional context. Mr. Mnatsakanyan affirmed that the European colleagues played a significant role for the atmosphere in regional cooperation. Expressing gratitude to the chair, Mr Onno Simons, Head of the political, economic, press and information