YEREVAN. – The year 2016 was good in terms of Armenia-European Union (EU) relations, said Ambassador Piotr Świtalski, Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, at a press conference on Tuesday.

In this connection, he added that there was intense political discourse, and said they expect the new and still-negotiated Armenia-EU framework agreement to reach a new level. 

Świtalski noted that they hope this framework agreement will become a reality in the current year because the respective outlook is fairly optimistic, the negotiations are at their final phases, and the negotiators are very close to the signing of this agreement. The EU ambassador stressed that this framework agreement can give new impetus to Armenia-EU relations.

Ambassador Świtalski stated that, in 2016, they broke a new record in terms of funds being transferred from Brussels to Armenia. They comprised around €62mn assistance, €7mn of which were allocated for preparations for the next election in Armenia.

The EU ambassador highlighted that the 2017 priority for the EU—with respect to Armenia—will be the National Assembly election, which is slated for April 2 and which will be at their focus.