Commissioner Fule: EU respects Armenia’s right for free choice

September 14, 2013 - 15:17 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule who is in Yerevan to participate in the informal meeting of the Eastern Partnership foreign ministers met President Serzh Sargsyan and Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan.

At the meeting, the parties exchanged views on bilateral ties and prospects of relations between Armenia and the European Union.

President Sargsyan reiterated determination to continue wide-scale reforms which are at the core of the Armenia-EU ties, as well as develop constructive and dynamic relations. He stressed Armenia’s need to develop based on the principles of democracy, human rights protection and rule of law.

Fule voiced his respect for a free choice of his partners, expecting to be familiarized with the ideas and approaches aimed at promoting bilateral ties.

Prime Minister Sargsyan, in turn, gave high assessment to the EU-assisted programs in Armenia. He stressed Yervan’s interest in promoting democratic reforms, with the parties discussing a number of issues on the line of cooperation.

Later, the President met with the participants of the informal meeting of the Eastern Partnership foreign ministers, including the Deputy Secretary General for the External Action Service (EAS) Helga Schmid, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova Natalia Gherman, Belarus Foreign Minister Vladimir Makeev.

The parties stressed the importance of the event, hosted by Yerevan ahead of the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius, with Armenian leader noting that Armenia seeks to remain among the Eastern Partnership stated to develop cooperation in different formats.

As Fule noted earlier, no documents will be signed at the Vilnius-hosted Eastern Partnership summit with Armenia.

As he told a news conference in Yerevan, “the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area Agreements (DCFTA) is an integral part of the Association Agreement and we cannot decouple the document.”

Commenting on the possibility of drafting another document envisaging a new format of Armenia-EU cooperation, Fule noted that’s it’s impossible to ready a major paper like that before the Vilnius summit due in November.

However, as he noted, EU does not refuse further cooperation with Yerevan.

Eastern Partnership

The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is the first comprehensive initiative introduced into the system of the European Union’s external relations, addressed to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The Eastern Partnership is designed to help the countries of Eastern Europe and South Caucasus with their approximation to and integration with the European Union. The EaP has injected a new quality into relations between the EU and the countries covered by the initiative through their gradual integration with the European Union.