Armenia deserves EU accession, European diplomats say

 May 21, 2014 - 18:24 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia deserves accession to the European Union, the French envoy Henri Reynaud said, accoridng to Panorama.am.

“During his visit to Armenia, French President Francois Hollande said that Armenia should be given a possibility to join the European Union through an exclusive formula. Armenia aspires to integrate with the European Union with the county’s system of values close to the European one. Armenia deserves accession to the European Union,” Reynaud said at a public debate in Yerevan dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the EU enlargement.

While in Armenia, Hollande indicated Armenia’s peculiar geopolitical conditions as the reason behind the county’s decision to continue its relations with Russia.

As Hollande added, Yerevan’s decision to join the Customs Union “should be supported and encouraged by the European Union and the European Union should understand that Armenia lives in unique conditions and needs to get involved in a process leading to integration to the European Union.”

“I don’t mean to blame anyone, but rather, try to understand motives for that decision. I want Armenia to continue deepening ties with the European Union,” the French President said.

“French President’s statement on Armenia-EU relations was strong and convincing, the head of the EU Delegation to Armenia Traian Hristea told reporters on Wednesday, May 21.

“We expect to fulfill our joint commitments. I believe that the Eastern Partnership Program, as a cornerstone of bilateral cooperation, will be a very important initiative which we will implement by joint efforts,” Traian Hristea said.

According to him, consultations are underway between the European Union and the Armenian authorities to find ways for implementation of the agreements reached at the Vilnius summit.

“The goal of the Eastern Partnership Program is to contribute to transformation and democratization of countries,” Polish ambassador to Armenia Zdzisław Raczyński said.

“Freedom is obtained at a high price and we must take care of our freedom,” he said.

Raczyński stressed that Poland’s accession to the European Union was not an easy process and initially his country had sovereignty concerns; however, now Poland is an important player in the European Union.

Raczyński expressed confidence that when looking back, historians will conclude that the enlargement of the European Union was one of the most important achievements.