European Commission adopts €24 million program for Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - The European Commission adopted a program that will further improve Public Finance Management (PFM) systems in Armenia.

It is the second part of the Annual Action Program (AAP) for Armenia for 2011, worth €24 million.

The program will contribute to the improvement of public sector transparency and performance, including the broadening of e-governance systems. Moreover it will assist achieve regulatory convergence with the EU and international laws and standards in the areas of trade, for instance improving customs legislation, the European Commission said in a press release.

European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy, Štefan Füle, commented: "Today's decision shows that the European Union stands ready to fulfill its promise to provide political support and increased assistance both financially and through advice and technical know-how. The fact that the EU's assistance to Armenia grew substantially over the past years is a sign of the Commission's commitment to support the ongoing reform efforts as confirmed in the Council Conclusions on Friday. Our assistance has direct influence on the everyday life of Armenian citizens, since it aims for instance to improve data protection and to enhance and broaden e-governance systems in order to facilitate instance access for citizens to public databases."

The Country Strategy Paper (CSP) 2007-2013 covers EC financial assistance to Armenia under the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI). It is accompanied by the ENPI National Indicative Program (NIP) for 2007-2010 whose main priorities are: Strengthening of Democratic Structures and Good Governance; Support for Regulatory Reform and Administrative Capacity Building; Support for Poverty Reduction Efforts.

Within the NIP 2007-2010, an indicative amount of €98.4 million was allocated to Armenia from the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument. For the period of 2011-2013, EU bilateral assistance to Armenia is considerably increasing. Within the National Indicative Program (NIP) 2011-2013 Armenia benefits from an indicative allocation of €157 million.

A minimum of €32 million is earmarked for the Comprehensive Institution Building Program to strengthen the core institutions in the context of Association Agreements. In addition, Armenia continues to benefit from the ENPI regional and interregional programs and a number of thematic programs such as the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights.

In July 2010, the EU and Armenia launched negotiations on the future EU-Armenia Association Agreement, which will be the successor agreement to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. The Association Agreement will significantly deepen Armenia’s political association and economic integration with the EU.