YEREVAN. – Although the European Union (EU) cannot advise Armenia on which system of governance it should choose, we believe that there is always room for some progress in any system.

Political Officer of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Andrea Chalupova, stated the abovementioned at Tuesday’s respective public debate.

In her words, holding an open and transparent process of constitutional amendments in Armenia is very important.

“The European Union closely follows the process of constitutional amendments in Armenia,” Chalupova stressed. “We need a discussion about the content of these amendments and this process.”

She also recalled that the EU supports the respective position of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission).

“But at the same time, we also raise the issues of concern to us,” the EU official added.

In her view, the process of constitutional amendments needs to be inclusive.

“If the new Constitution [of Armenia] is adopted, new laws should [also] be adopted, especially a new Electoral Code based on the OSCE/ODIHR [i.e. the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights]-developed principles,” Andrea Chalupova said.

The referendum on Armenia’s draft constitutional amendments is slated for December 6.

Pursuant to the new draft Constitution, the country will make a transition from a semi-presidential to a parliamentary system of governance.

The opponents of the proposed constitutional amendments, however, consider them to be the authorities’ attempt to hang on to power.