If there come about insurmountable obstacles between Armenia’s joining the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) agreement with EU and becoming a member in the Customs Union, it is preferable—and our recommendation—that Armenia initial the EU Association Agreement, but without the DCFTA.     

Ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Vice-Chairman and Education and Science Minister Armen Ashotyan, who is among the Armenian delegation that is currently in Brussels, noted the aforesaid during discussions at the European People’s Party (EPP) Group in the European Parliament.   

But the majority of our European colleagues rules out such solution, Ashotyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“The problem is not so much in the technical matters, but rather in not creating such precedent within the framework of the Eastern Partnership,” he noted.

“We said Armenia is inherently a European country and Armenia’s Europeanization is not linked to political positions. We need Europe’s assistance today more than ever to continue the political reforms [in Armenia],” Ashotyan told from Brussels.  

Also, the RPA vice-chairman compared Armenia-EU relations to a computer file on which work has been done for a long time, and he pointed to three options.        

“First, close this file without saving the work that is done. Second, let us save the work that is done and close the file. And third, let us save what we have done and continue working. We favor the third option,” stated the Education and Science Minister of Armenia.     

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am