Does the EU Ignore Armenia? - 'Zhoghovurd'

While the ruling party's faction in the National Assembly was giving grand promises from the podium that Armenia would join the European Union after the adoption of the relevant law, that very institution is actually ignoring Armenia. This is reported by the newspaper 'Zhoghovurd.'

“On February 12, the Armenian Parliament, with a majority of 63 votes in favor and 7 against, ceremoniously adopted a bill on the initiation of the process of Armenia's membership in the European Union. This bill was brought to the Assembly by extra-parliamentary forces. While the members of the ruling party present this as a glimmer of hope, suggesting that the doors of Europe will soon open for us without a visa, the reality is that this is merely an agreement to start the process—nothing more. Moreover, the vision for Armenia's EU membership remains vague, if not unrealistic.

‘Zhoghovurd’ notes that although two days have passed since the adoption of the bill, there has been no response from the EU—neither from the European Commission nor from the European Parliament, which were expected to provide an institutional reaction by the end of their workday yesterday. In other words, 48 hours after the adoption of the longed-for law, no institution has welcomed, congratulated, or offered any kind of institutional response to the Republic of Armenia's aspirations to move towards Europe. It appears that this is just another bluff by the Pashinyan administration for the pro-European segment of our society ahead of the elections, or simply another populist move that is not welcomed even by the members of that ‘big family,’” the paper writes.