Third Meeting of the Armenia-EU Partnership Council Held

On December 17, the third meeting of the Armenia-EU Partnership Council took place in Brussels. The Armenian delegation was led by Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazyan, while the EU delegation was headed by Josep Borrell, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

The Armenian delegation included Sedrak Barseghyan, head of the office of Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan; Christine Grigoryan, Deputy Minister of Justice; Varos Simonian, Deputy Minister of Economy; Arthur Martirosyan, Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports; Anna Mazmanyan, Deputy Minister of Environment; and Hakob Vardanyan, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure.

The agenda of the council meeting covered a wide range of Armenia-EU partnership issues, focusing on political and sectoral dialogue, including the implementation process of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between Armenia and the EU, prospects for initiating dialogue on visa liberalization, and Armenia's reform agenda. The council also addressed challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the EU's support for Armenia's efforts in this regard.

Both sides discussed topics related to trade and economic relations, energy, education, and environmental cooperation. Members of the Armenian delegation presented the main developments in the Armenia-EU partnership within their respective areas of expertise.

In his welcoming remarks, Minister Ayvazyan stated, “Strengthening the value-driven partnership with the EU and its member states remains one of Armenia's foreign policy priorities. Regrettably, our common democratic values are facing numerous challenges, particularly in our region, where stability and security have been visibly undermined due to the recent Azerbaijani-Turkish aggression against the indigenous people of Artsakh.”

Referring to the current phase of implementing the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the Foreign Minister expressed satisfaction that Armenia has already developed a draft roadmap for the provisions of CEPA that will soon come into force.

The meeting specifically focused on regional security and stability issues. The Minister drew the participants' attention to the steps being taken to address the consequences of the war unleashed by Azerbaijan against the people of Artsakh, with the direct involvement and support of Turkey, including addressing the humanitarian crisis created in Artsakh.

The Foreign Minister noted that Azerbaijan's and Turkey's actions, which have been accompanied by gross violations of international humanitarian law and aimed at the annihilation of the Artsakh Armenian population from their homeland, have created new dangerous precedents for resolving conflicts through force in the EU's Eastern Neighborhood.

In this context, the Minister expressed concern regarding the transfer of thousands of foreign armed terrorists from Syria and Libya to Azerbaijan and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone by Turkey, thereby transforming a part of the EU's Eastern Neighborhood into a hub of international terrorism.

During the meeting, both sides underscored the necessity for comprehensive resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship, emphasizing the need to implement the fundamental principles that have yet to be realized, particularly in the process of determining the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.