Armenia is ready to establish closer relations with the European Union (EU). Artur Hovhannisyan, secretary of the ruling majority Civil Contract Faction, stated this during Friday’s press briefings in the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia—and commenting on NA speaker Alen Simonyan's statements that Armenia should strive to become a candidate for EU membership.
Hovhannisyan recalled that PM Nikol Pashinyan had publicly announced Armenia’s readiness to get closer to the EU to the extent that the EU itself is ready for that. Simonyan's statement, Hovhannisyan noted, should be considered in the context of this political line.
The ruling faction MP emphasized that rapprochement with the EU is important to Armenia for several reasons. First of all, he noted the role of the EU civilian monitoring mission in Armenia. According to Hovhannisyan, this mission plays a major role in guaranteeing the security of Armenia's borders.
"After the arrival of the monitors, the dynamics at the borders of Armenia have changed significantly," said the lawmaker.
In addition, such rapprochement, in his opinion, is also important from the point of view of the need for new markets.
"The rapprochement [of Armenia] with the European Union is also logical from the point of view of the development of democracy and the civilizational development of the country in general. Establishing closer relations with EU countries is an important agenda item of our policy," said the legislator.
According to him, the national interests of Armenia are also taken into account here.
In turn, Vladimir Vardanyan, another MP of the ruling majority Civil Contract Faction and chairman of the Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs of the NA, noted that two of Armenia's four neighbors are candidates for EU membership, and this somewhat brings Armenia closer to EU membership.
"A country's right to participate in integration processes is the sovereign right of every state. No one will deny the fact that from the point of view of economic integration, the example of the EU is one of the best—if not the best," stressed Vardanyan.
