EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT EU-ARMENIA PARLIAMENTARY COOPERATION COMMITTEE MINUTES OF THE 11th MEETING 1-2 December 2010 BRUSSELS CONTENTS 1. Adoption of draft agenda 2. Adoption of the minutes of the 10th meeting of the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee held in Yerevan on 7-8 April 2009 3. The state of play of the EU-Armenia relations and the negotiations on an EU-Armenia Association Agreement Opening Statements by: . Government of the Republic of Armenia . Presidency-in-Office of the Council of the European Union . European Commission 4. Follow-up to the Final Statement and Recommendations of the 10th meeting of the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee adopted in Yerevan on 8 April 2009 5. Democratic Reforms in Armenia . Reform of the electoral legislation in Armenia . Democracy and respect for human rights in Armenia . Armenian Government anti-corruption strategy . The European Cultural Heritage and its preservation 6. The economic crisis, State finances and social policies 7. Regional issues . The state of play of relations between Armenian and Turkey . The current situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict 8. Any other business 9. Adoption of the Final Statement and Recommendations 10. Date and place of next meeting Annex: List of attendance ________________ PV\EN.doc 1 PE 467.638 The 11th EU Armenia PCC under Co-Chairmanship of Mr. Milan CABRNOCH (ECR) and Ms. Naira ZOHRABYAN was open at 15:10. Mr. CABRNOCH welcomed the Armenian colleagues to the 11th meeting of the EU- Armenia PCC, the 1st meeting of the new EP delegation. He introduced Ms. ZOHRABYAN, Ms. KAZINIAN and Mr. Gunnar WIEGAND (DG RELEX Director). He invited the Members of the PCC to table amendments to the final recommendations by the end of the day. Ms. ZOHRABYAN introduced the Armenian members of the EU-Armenia PCC and considered the work of the PCC beneficial to the development of the bilateral relations and the solving of various issues. She expressed confidence that the 11th meeting would be productive. Armenia is more and more engaged with the European organisations. The EaP contributes to European integration and democracy is an important tool. She referred to 2007 ENP Action Plan and found the EaP a qualitatively new level in the multilateral as well as the bilateral dimensions. Armenia wants to benefit from the EaP. She also noted that there were dividing lines in the South Caucasus, but Armenia wanted to cooperate for a peaceful future. The EaP is an initiative that brings benefits to both sides, for markets in Armenia and the EU; the initiative promotes dialogue and European values. Since the launch of the EaP Armenia and the EU have had a common position on the majority of issues. Ms. ZOHRABYAN mentioned the Group of Advisors from the EU working in Armenia since 2009. Human rights issues have been discussed too. According to Ms. ZOHRABYAN, Armenia is committed to reforms and to improving legislation. Freedom of movement and the DCFTA are important aspects of the relations between Armenia and the EU. Armenia appointed a delegation to the EURONEST PA that is chaired by a representative of the opposition. On 20 May 2010 a new Criminal Procedure Code was adopted in order to promote the work of the media. "Journalists without Frontiers" also appreciated the good results for Armenia in the field of media freedom. She stressed the commitment of the country to the civil society, regional peace and stability. 1. The agenda of the meeting was adopted. Mr. CABRNOCH welcomed the other members of the EP Delegation: Mr. THALER, Ms. LUNACEK, and Mr. KIRILOV. 2. Adoption of the Minutes of 10th meeting. The minutes of the 10th meeting of the EU-Armenia PCC were adopted. 3. State of play of relations between the EU and Armenia. Mr. CABRNOCH stated that the EU Council Resolution of 10th May was the basis for future cooperation. He asked Ms. KAZANIAN about the status quo of negotiations. Ms. KAZANIAN welcomed the PCC meeting. The Lisbon Treaty has increased the number of opportunities for cooperation within the EaP. Armenia wants to deepen its cooperation with the EU. Dialogue has intensified, top-level visits are taking place. She mentioned mutual the willingness under ambitious agenda and commitments to action. A detailed list of actions was presented in May 2009. For the period 2009-2011 200 actions are to be taken in the field of economy, democracy building, civil society and administrative capacity enhancement. She noted that the EU advisors, since March 2009, have been assisting in the country. The Human Rights Dialogue was established in a constructive atmosphere. Another discussion on ________________ PV\EN.doc 2 PE 467.638 concrete cooperation in the field of human rights was scheduled for 7 December 2010. Armenia has embraced the idea of the EaP as a new opportunity and wants to make use of it. Armenia is eager to participate in the multilateral track, as well as to cooperate between the partner countries themselves. According to Ms. KAZANIAN, Armenia remains committed to regional cooperation, but any cooperation between Armenia and Azerbaijan is rejected by Baku. The Association Agreement negotiations were launched on 9 July 2010 and are supposed to replace the PCA. She noted that the DCFTA establishment would be a step forward and would provide access to the European markets. Visa liberalisation is a fundamental issue for the government of Armenia and is given significant attention. She expressed hope to start the Readmission Agreement negotiations. She stressed the commitment of Armenia for the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno- Karabakh conflict and blamed Azerbaijan for a military rhetoric. She mentioned the relevance of the Minsk Group for the conflict resolution with 3 principles: non-use of force, territorial integrity and self-determination. She claimed that the EP resolution of 20 May 2010 was pro- Azerbaijani. She explained the Armenian position on the Turkish-Armenian relations. In the opinion of the Armenian government Turkey was to blame for the lack of progress, since it decided not to ratify the protocols (of October 2009) to open the borders unconditionally. Ms. KAZANIAN appreciated the position of the EU that Nagorno-Karabakh resolution should be separated from Armenia-Turkey relations. Ms. KAZANIAN said that the EURONEST could further enhance the democratic parliamentary practices. The Parliamentary Assembly should work on the principles of mutual interest, common ownership and inclusiveness. In her words the PCC is important for strengthening this cooperation. Mr. WIEGAND greeted the Armenian Co-Chair and the Members of the PCC. He appreciated the role of a regular parliamentary dialogue since it had democratic legitimacy. He mentioned that the role of the EP rose due to the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty. He noted that the domestic reform agenda of Armenia was ambitious. Domestic reforms were aimed at bringing the country closer to the EU. In this respect, launching of the EaP in May 2009 meant a dynamic start on both the bilateral level and multilateral level. Progress has been made on both tracks, an unprecedented scope for cooperation emerged. The South Caucasus was getting more attention from the EU. The Association Agreement negotiations are speedy. He mentioned that the aim of cooperation was a political association and economic integration, DCFTA, approximation of rules and standards. He said that the DCFTA would bring free access to the European market for Armenian goods and would make the country more attractive for the investors. He explained the conditions for the DCFTA. There are 2 sets of conditions: political and economic. Political conditions consist of democracy, freedoms, good governance. Progress is expected from Armenia to improve the electoral standards; it means that a good Electoral Code must be elaborated together with reforms in the judiciary and media. Mr. WIEGAND stated that the human rights dialogue was concrete and had no taboos. Mr. WIEGAND stated that the EU was concerned about the respect of the WTO rules by Armenia. He mentioned the case of non-discriminatory taxation of tobacco products which was violating the WTO commitments. He stressed the importance of visa facilitation and liberalisation for further improvement of the bilateral relations. The 1st steps should be the reduction of fees and speeding of issuing visas for certain groups of citizens. Mr. WIEGAND touched upon the issue of assistance for Armenia between 2011 and 2013. 157 million Euros were allocated to Armenia for 2011-2013. The main area of the financial assistance is supporting the reforms and the institution building. He mentioned the positive ________________ PV\EN.doc 3 PE 467.638 contribution of the advisors from the EU in the Armenian Parliament. He also mentioned the extraordinary assistance granted to Yerevan worth 100 million Euros, 1st tranche was expected in December. Mr. WIEGAND then talked about regional challenges, primarily Nagorno-Karabakh; the OSCE Summit was mentioned in this respect. The EU supports the Minsk Group framework. Brussels encourages the improvement of the relations between Armenia and Turkey. At the end Mr. WIEGAND appreciated the role of the parliamentary dimension for cooperation. He called for an even more intensified dialogue on the reform agenda in Armenia. (Tax Code, Electoral Code). 4. Follow-up to the Final Recommendations of the 10th meeting of the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee adopted in Yerevan on 8 April 2009 Before coming to item 4 of the Agenda Mr. CABRNOCH mentioned several topics. He mentioned that the EU-Armenia relations had intensified and the parliamentary dialogue became more constructive, better understanding was achieved. He mentioned the Progress Report of May 2010 on the implementation of the ENP Action Plan and the PCA. He said that the negotiations on the Visa-Facilitation and Readmission Agreement were being prepared.