European Parliament, Armenian National Assembly set to strengthen cooperation

The EU Advisory Group, together with the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, initiated a workshop on cooperation with the European Parliament, aimed at strengthening inter-parliamentary relations. The opening remarks were delivered by Mr Samvel Farmanyan, Chairperson of the Delegation to the Parliamentary Cooperation Committee (PCC) from Armenia and Mr Andrej Didenko, Chargé d’Affaires, EU Delegation to Armenia.

The European Parliament and Eastern Partnership parliaments have established bilateral relations through meetings in the framework of the PCC and the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly (PA). The workshop aimed to strengthen the Armenian National Assembly capacities by raising knowledge of the practices, mechanisms and working methods of the European Parliament. The event also explored possibilities for enhancing the working relations with the European Parliament on various levels.

The keynote speaker was Dr Thomas Grunert, the Head of Unit for the Enlargement and European Economic Area at the Directorate General for External Policies in the General Secretariat of the European Parliament. Dr Grunert shared first-hand experiences related to PCC and EURONEST PA activities. The speaker and EUAG advisor on EU-Armenia Parliamentary Cooperation, Ms Kaja Krawczyk, provided practical recommendations stemming from the best practices related to the activities of the PCC, as well as the organisation of meetings and the application of the PCC Rules of Procedures.

The workshop was attended by members of the NA Standing Committees dealing with inter-parliamentary cooperation, the members of the NA Delegations of the EU-Armenia PCC and the EURONEST PA as well as other relevant parliamentary staff.