In 2017, the number of people who applied for asylum in the EU from Armenia amounted to 6875 people, and in 2018 this figure decreased by 30% and amounted to 4815 people, said My Step ruling bloc MP Arman Yeghoyan on Friday in Yerevan at a meeting of the international conference on the liberalization of the visa regime with the participation of the EU Ambassador to Armenia.

“If this year we also fix a similar dynamic in the amount of 30-40%, we can say that this is an obvious indicator both in terms of implementing reforms and of the attitude of citizens,” the MP said adding that noting that European partners of Armenia can be calm. 

Arman Yeghoyan noted that Yerevan knows that after the EU liberalized the visa regime with a number of countries, the flow of people to Europe from these countries increased. 

“We should not be afraid to talk about it.

But can 4-8 thousand people pose a danger, a threat, so that because of them it would be worth it to delay the process and lose the benefits of those young people who want to communicate with their peers from the EU?”

According to him, these relations will bring far greater and significant benefits than the harm that these several thousand people can cause. Both culturally and economically, and from the point of view of ensuring stability and security in the region, the liberalization of the visa regime will only bring benefits.