The 15th meeting of the Armenia-EU Council was held in Brussels today. The meeting was followed by a joint press conference, where Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian made the following statement:
Dear Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,
In the framework of the 15th session of Armenia-EU Cooperation Council, together with our EU colleagues, we have had extensive discussions on the further development of Armenia – European Union relations, which included such issues as: Political dialogue, future legal basis of our relations, mobility, human rights, economic reforms, EU’s assistance to Armenia. We expressed our appreciation to the EU for its continued support and assistance provided to our country over the years which have been instrumental for the effective implementation and sustainability of the reform process and institutional capacity building in Armenia.
We have discussions on the scope of future legal basis of our relations. I reaffirmed that it is our strong will to deepen our comprehensive cooperation, building upon the achievements that we have reached during recent years, in all possible areas and directions, giving due consideration to our commitments in other international, integration formats.
The Armenia – EU cooperation in the area of mobility, migration and enhancing the people to people contacts has been among our highest priorities in our cooperation with the EU. In January 2014 the EU-Armenia Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements entered into force and we are looking forward to launching a next phase of Visa Dialogue, aimed at a visa-free travel for the citizens of Armenia.
In 2014 the Protocol to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement came into force, which enabled Armenia to participate in a broad range of EU programs and to cooperate with the EU Agencies.
We also touched upon regional issues. I briefed the Council on latest developments related to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the efforts we exercise together with the OSCE Minsk group co-chairs for the exclusively peaceful solution of the conflict.
Thank you.
