YEREVAN. – The final tranche from EU will be available to the Armenian government only after parliamentary elections, Head of EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Piotr Świtalski said in an interview with Armenian News-NEWS.am. He noted the positive aspects of a new framework agreement between Yerevan and Brussels and reiterated EU’s position on Karabakh issue.

Do you see progress in economic interaction between the European Union and Armenia during 2016?

We do not have the full data of 2016, but we have partial for the first part which shows visible increase of Armenian exports to the EU market. The European Union remains the biggest export market for Armenia. The European Union is the number one trade partner, number one foreign investor and number one donor of Armenia. Armenia benefits from the GSP+ scheme (privileged access to the European market). Thousands of Armenian items can enter freely the EU market. GSP+ is based on the conditionality related to Armenia’s participation in 27 international agreements, treaties and standard setting documents. This privilege access is not unconditional, it has to do with implementation by Armenia of these important conventions relating to human rights and labor standards.

Can we expect signing of a new framework agreement between Yerevan and Brussels this year? What will the new agreement change in bilateral relations from economic point of view?

The negotiations between Armenia and EU on new framework agreement enter the final phrase. Very intensive negotiations being conducted, this week as we speak new platforms of dialogue will be perused, and I believe there is strong determination to complete negotiations as soon as possible. We cannot speak about any concrete dates. Only a few remaining open issues have to be tackled. How long it will take this is another story, but with the political will this agreement can be concluded in quite short time.

The importance of agreement is obvious. The agreement will establish a solid legal basis in relations between Armenia and EU.  The framework agreement with EU will be the most advanced agreement between the European Union and any member of the Eurasian Economic Union. The political part will be reserving the substance of association agreement canceled in 2013. The political part will contain a very strong commitment on both parties to deepen political dialogue, cooperation on foreign policy, security and defense matters. Most importantly the common values which are the basis of our relationship will be strengthened.

The economic and trade part, of course, will not be so ambitious as the deep and comprehensive free trade agreement for obvious reasons. The trade part will be very modest, but still we will have as the basis WTO regime.

Some other issues which are related to trade and investment part at this moment cannot be as ambitious as Armenia and EU might wish. Nevertheless, there will be elements which will introduce new quality to the trade and economic part.

“I think that for foreign investors this agreement will serve as an encouragement to do business in Armenia, because even from political point of view the framework agreement will constitute a political assurance that Armenia is in good terms with EU, and it makes sense to consider business opportunities in Armenia.

On New Year’s Eve Azerbaijani armed forces launched a diversionary infiltration attempt at Armenia’s state border. Do you agree that such kind of aggressive steps should be strictly condemned and prevented? Don’t you think that imposing sanctions might be necessary in case of destructive actions?

The position of the European Union is very clear: we condemn violence, we urge parties to show restraint and to avoid escalation of hostilities. We deplore loss of life. These young man killed in the battle, the exchange of fire are the future of Armenia, the future of Azerbaijan.  So, our position is very clear and is very consistent: there is no military solution to the conflict. Hostilities should be prevented, confidence building mechanism and investigation mechanism as envisaged some months ago in Vienna in May should be put in place, and negotiation on comprehensive settlement of the conflict should be brought to a successful conclusion. The EU is not involved in the direct mediation, this is responsibility of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, but we support their efforts. We have a special representative coming very often to the region and meeting the leaders of the parties. The EU is very much interested in the settlement of the conflict. And hopefully we can have visible progress soon. From my contacts here, I believe that Armenian society is ready to engage in peace, is ready to support peace. Armenia is not interested in the bad developments meaning another war, another conflict and case of loss of life. This I can assure from my daily contacts.

The European Union welcomed consensus between the authorities and the opposition concerning the Electoral Code. There was essential financial assistance from the EU. Do you see real guarantees and prospects of free, just and democratic parliamentary elections in Armenia?

The implementation of electoral deal in September 2016 was very important, and I can note with satisfaction that all stakeholders were doing their best to ensure the proper implementation of technical arrangements related to the elections. From our contacts with the government and opposition parties, as well as other public institutions, such as Central Electoral Commission, everything is being done in order to make this deal a success. We appreciated the role of the UNDP who is responsible for the implementation of one part of the deal: installation of voter identification machine, together with other donors Germany, UK and U.S. we are grateful to UNDP and the government for making good progress.

Technical part of an agreement on installing cameras during Armenia’s elections cannot be implemented to the level of ambition as envisaged initially, but judged by last week’s contacts with the government officials and the opposition parties, the EU is optimistic that there is a political will to carry out this arrangement concerning video cameras to the best possible level.

I understand that contacts are now being undertaken with the willing company. The task is very difficult, because the time is short. I cannot recall any other country where such an ambitious technological approach was implemented within such a short period of time, But, I am optimistic because what I see is a very strong determination and political will to implement the deal.

The deal, of course, does not cover all aspects. There are areas where the government and the opposition could not come to a common position, for instance the question of the rating lists. The EU is interested that all the other aspects are implemented according to the international standards, taking into account the previous recommendations of the OSCE and the Council of Europe that Armenia as declared by the leadership of the country has the best elections ever, the best election in the region and even in the post-Soviet area, if you wish, I think it is possible and will open a new chapter for Armenia. This will make Armenia develop better and faster.

The level of EU’s engagement is unprecedented. EU is allocating up to 7 million Euros in addition to the allocations of Germany, UK and US which makes 90 percent of the external foreign funding, and this is something we have never done in any other country. Why are we doing it this time? We believe that Armenia needs our support, and this support can be used for a good purpose, this support will not be wasted, it will bring to a clear result. So far we have allocated up to 4 million euros to procure equipment, 2 more million will be transferred in the coming days. More than one million will be available only after the elections, and we do not make it a secret. Allocation of the final tranche will depend on how the elements of the electoral deal will be implemented. We are paying close attention to what is happening. From our perspective the most important issue should be now to look into questions of fair campaign (prevention of misuse of administrative resources, prevention of corruption, fair access to media).

I have had several meetings with the officials of Armenia, including prosecutor general, and I can say the authorities are aware of the task and they want to do their best within the scope of the mandates in order to ensure the best conditions for campaign.

This is a very important time for Armenia. The challenges are big, but I am optimistic, I believe that Armenia will find its way out because even from the biggest challenges there is always a way out.