European countries protract ratification of partnership agreement with Armenia

The ratification of the Armenia-European Union (EU) agreement is delayed by European countries because of the change of power in Yerevan, said Ararat Mirzoyan, the Speaker of the Armenian Parliament.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 24, 2017, Armenia signed an agreement on a comprehensive and expanded partnership with the EU, and became the only country in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) that concluded an agreement of this kind with the EU. In April 2018, the Armenian Parliament ratified the agreement with the EU.

It is unlikely that this year the EU countries will ratify the agreement with Armenia, Mr Mirzoyan said at a briefing on January 14.

The process is protracted because of the change of power in Armenia. "If the parliament of the previous convocation continued working, the process would go more smoothly," he has noted.

The ratification of the agreement by the EU countries in 2019 was also doubted by Armen Ashotyan, Deputy Chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), who wrote in his Facebook page: "After the revolution, the Armenia-EU agreement loses its political significance and value," (translated by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent).

The delay in ratification of the agreement with the EU will have a negative impact on the image of Armenia, Stepan Safaryan, a political observer, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The EU shows interest to approve, as soon as possible, the roadmap of Armenia-EU cooperation. The delay is caused by the incompetence of the officials of the new power, he has noted.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 19, 2019 at 08:04 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.