Pashinyan prioritizes meeting EU standards

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the period following the elections, together with a new stage in relations with the European Union, presents Armenia with a historic opportunity. He made the remarks during a joint press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

According to Pashinyan, the country's first priority is to achieve full, genuine, and comprehensive compliance with EU standards, reports 1lurer.am .

"Now, after the elections, I believe it is also very important that we restart Armenia's democratic reform agenda. As I have said before, we remained committed to reforms during the previous period, but that process was constantly accompanied by major challenges — COVID-19, the war and the post-war situation. In practice, we never had the opportunity to focus fully on the democratic reform agenda.

The elections, this new period, and the new level and scope of our relations with the European Union create a historic opportunity for us. We have clearly defined our strategy. Our first strategic objective is to achieve full, sincere and comprehensive compliance with EU standards. Once that goal is accomplished, the question of becoming a full member of the European Union could move to a more concrete implementation agenda, although that is ultimately a political issue.

As I have said before, once we fully and genuinely meet EU standards, we will be in a position to become a full member of the European Union. However, that is also a political matter that depends on many different factors," Pashinyan said.

He added that if Armenia succeeds in joining the European Union, it would represent a major achievement.

"If, for some reason, the European Union decides not to enlarge any further, we will still benefit greatly because we will have become a country that fully meets EU standards.

This is not being done for the European Union. It is being done for the citizens of the Republic of Armenia and for the Republic of Armenia itself. That is the strategic objective we are pursuing.

Of course, the new opportunities emerging through the opening of regional transport links are also extremely important. During the election campaign, I repeatedly said that Armenia is transforming from a dead end of conflict into a Crossroads of Peace, and this is a historic development. We are grateful to the European Union for consistently and fully supporting Armenia and its people in these efforts, and we highly value that support.

Even when we look back now, it is remarkable how rapidly Armenia-EU relations have developed over the past few years. There is no indication that this pace of development will slow, and I am very pleased about that," Pashinyan said.

Earlier, Ursula von der Leyen announced that around 80% of Armenia's exports could become exempt from customs duties on the EU market and that Armenian beverages and spirits would gain access to the European Union's single market.