December 8, the first meeting of the Foreign Ministers within the framework of Eastern Partnership program starts in Brussels. The ministerial meeting will be the first since the program launched in May. Before the meeting, se2009.eu (the website of the Swedish Presidency of the EU) asked three questions to RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan. NEWS.am posts the questions and answers available on se2009.eu website.

What are your expectations of the meeting? What are the most important issues for Armenia?

Armenia attaches great importance to cooperation with the European Union and its Member States. The Eastern Partnership initiative provides a new framework for this relationship through enhanced political dialogue, increased trade opportunities and people-to-people contacts. Another added value of the Eastern Partnership is that it supports cooperation among the partner states, which is can be critical to the overall success of the initiative. At this first ministerial meeting we will take stock of the progress achieved and I look forward to productive discussions with my colleagues on the perspectives of our future cooperation.

Armenia’s relations with the European Union are regulated by the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. The latter was signed in 1996 and entered into force in 1999. Since then the political landscape of Europe has changed significantly, new challenges and opportunities have come into being. The Eastern Partnership not only reflects the progress achieved in relations between Armenia and the EU in the last decade, but also offers the perspective of an Association Agreement, which will adapt our cooperation to the new realities and will take into consideration the aspirations of each partner state and the European Union.

What are your hopes for the Eastern Partnership in the short run and the long run?

I think in the short term the Eastern Partnership should develop appropriate mechanisms of cooperation and establish the atmosphere of mutual understanding that will be conducive to accomplishing the goals of the initiatives. The thematic platforms, have made a certain progress this year, and I hope that their working plans will be successfully implemented. It is also important that the partner countries build their capacities so that they can absorb the implications that derive from the intensive contacts within the Eastern Partnership and can serve the goals of cooperation such as an Association Agreement and a deep and comprehensive Free Trade Agreement.

How do you think the EU can benefit from the partnership? How can Armenia benefit?

Partnership means a common set of values, interests, trade and human contacts. The ultimate beneficiaries of this process will be the peoples of Armenia and the European Union, who are united in their diversity, as each of them has different traditions, history and language, but they share the same vision of a Europe based on cooperation, peace and prosperity. They want to trade with each other and enrich knowledge of each other’s culture. To this end, one of our common priorities is facilitating visa arrangements in order to gradually remove obstacles to people-to-people contact between our societies.

A.G.