YEREVAN. – Armenia and the European Union (EU) have begun the year on a high political note.

Ambassador Piotr Świtalski, Head of the Delegation  of the EU to Armenia, said about the abovementioned at a press conference on Tuesday.

In his words, EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn’s recent visit to Armenia has been very successful, and Armenia-EU bilateral relations are developing very constructively.

Speaking about economic cooperation, the ambassador noted that the European side has submitted to Armenian authorities its comments on the roadmap for the implementation of the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA). As per Świtalski, the roadmap for the implementation of this document will probably be ready by the end of March, and the EU is preparing a specific package to support this roadmap.

The EU diplomat noted that in 2018, the amount of support has increased from 20 percent up to 25 percent, and Armenia has received €10 million from the special (venture) fund for the first time; Świtalski said this attests to the fact that the EU greatly lauds Armenia’s progress, and added that if the country shows a targeted use of funds, it can hope for increased funds.

Speaking about Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s forthcoming visit Brussels, the EU envoy noted that the discussions to be held there will give a great opportunity for determining the pace of the progress.

Piotr Świtalski added that, at the request of the Armenian side, time frame changes have been made in the implementation of some planned projects; this refers to the already allocated funds. He recalled that they will respond positively.