Armenia has succeeded in reinvigorating its relations with the European Union after its unexpected decision in 2013 to join a Russian-led alliance of former Soviet republics, a senior EU diplomat said on Friday.
Traian Hristea, the head of the EU Delegation in Yerevan, said the Armenian government has restored EU’s “level of confidence” in it with its efforts to negotiate a new major accord with the 28-nation bloc.
“I think that we have made a lot of progress between the [2013] Vilnius summit and what we expect at Riga,” he added, referring to an EU summit that will take place in Latvia’s capital next month.
Armenia and the EU were on course to sign a far-reaching Association Agreement until President Serzh Sarkisian unexpectedly decided to seek membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The agreement was cancelled as a result.
Over the past year, the Armenian government has been trying to negotiate another, less ambitious accord with the EU. The two sides are expected to open official talks on it after the Riga summit. Armenian and EU officials have already identified concrete areas of closer cooperation to be covered by the new deal.
“Armenia’s entry to the Eurasian Economic Union cannot impede the development of Armenia-EU relations in various spheres,” Artak Zakarian, the chairman of the Armenian parliament committee on foreign affairs, said as he presided over parliamentary hearings on European integration.
Speaking during the hearings, Hristea similarly noted that while the EEU membership precludes free-trade deals between the EU and Armenia it does not prevent the two sides from deepening ties in other areas. He singled out political reforms which the Armenian authorities claim to be committed to.
“As long as good governance, reform of the judiciary, rule of law, an human rights do not form part of the official Eurasian integration process, the European Union will see a lot of room for cooperation with Armenia in this area,” stressed Hristea.