Video: Agreement Signed Between Armenia and EU

Armenia has signed an agreement with the EU Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, known as Eurojust. According to a report from the Armenian News Agency, the agreement was signed by Armenia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan, EU Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders, and Belgium’s Minister of Justice and North Sea Affairs Vincent Van Quickenborne.

This cooperation agreement between Armenia and the EU will allow competent authorities in Armenia to collaborate with Eurojust in the area of criminal legal cooperation. Vincent Van Quickenborne emphasized that the agreement will create a solid foundation for relations between the European Union and Armenia. “The agreement is particularly important for the Belgian presidency, as judicial cooperation between the European Union and third countries is a key priority for us,” the Belgian Minister stated.

Armenia's Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan highlighted that Armenia has been interested in this cooperation from the very beginning and was the first country to initiate negotiations. He noted that Armenia is the first to sign such a cooperation agreement. “We had close cooperation with Eurojust and Europol even before this agreement, but now this agreement comes to strengthen and institutionalize our collaboration. By signing this agreement, we are also one step closer to the full implementation of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between Armenia and the EU. This opens doors for new opportunities in experience exchange and capacity building,” said Mirzoyan.

The EU Commissioner for Justice, in a conversation with an Armenian News Agency correspondent, remarked that this marks an important cornerstone in EU-Armenia relations. “Presenting the report on criminal networks from Europol makes it clear that this enables us to significantly strengthen cooperation with Armenia at the judicial level and ensure that we can work integratively with 80 countries, not only in Europe but outside of it as well. What is important for us is that Armenia now has the opportunity to have a representative within the framework of Eurojust, which allows participation in joint investigative teams when necessary,” Reynders emphasized.

According to him, it is often challenging to reach decisions regarding justice, whether to convict or acquit. “Armenia’s participation now truly provides an opportunity to fully strengthen judicial cooperation in every aspect. The mere fact of having an agreement will allow participation in a very large network and reinforce our presence in cooperation with the European Union. I think that even in member states, when we, for example, create joint investigative teams, this allows us to see how other various players operate and how effective they are,” the commissioner stated.

The EU Commissioner is convinced that this agreement to join Eurojust will be a good opportunity and impetus for speeding up the process of aligning Armenia’s judicial system with European standards, which is already apparent in candidate countries for EU membership. Eurojust is a pan-European structure that coordinates the functions reserved for prosecutors in EU member states and promotes cooperation between prosecutors across member countries, among many other functions, including the exchange of gathered data between competent authorities in both EU member states and third countries. Thanks to this agreement, it will be possible to combat organized crime, money laundering, human and drug trafficking, cybercrime, and terrorism.