EuFoA: European and Armenian parliamentarians confirm a new phase in EU-Armenia relations
Today, on March 20, the fifteenth meeting of the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee (PCC), composed of European and Armenian parliamentarians, was held in Yerevan. The PCC adopted a joint statement on the future of EU-Armenia relations, the Armenian Genocide and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, says the European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA). Director of European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA) Mr Eduardo Lorenzo Ochoa comments: "The adoption of this text together with a deep degree of mutual understanding and collaboration by both delegations show that EU-Armenia parliamentary relations are at the highest level. In the context of the EURONEST PA that finished on Wednesday in Yerevan and the visit to Armenia of EU Commissioner Hahn, it was a very good week for EU-Armenia relations overall." The PCC joint statement "stresses the importance of reviewing and updating the existing basis of relations" which was also noted at the Vilnius Eastern Partnership Summit, and "underlines that both EU and Armenia have now identified the areas where cooperation is possible despite Armenia's engagement in the Eurasian Economic Union." Furthermore, the Partnership and Cooperation Committee positively assesses the steps taken towards the management of the Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements and "endorses further steps towards launching Dialogue on Visa Liberalization, aimed at a visa free travel for the citizens of Armenia in due course." The PCC also recalls the European Parliament resolution of 1987 on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and ahead of the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, pays tribute to the innocent victims, once again calling on all EU member states to acknowledge it and to further contribute to its recognition. Regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the PCC members expressed their support to the negotiation process under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group along with its proposal on the creation of a mechanism of investigation of incidents, and call for "a greater political commitment from all parties involved, while firmly deploring all violations of the cease-fire agreement and reminding the value of confidence building measures, including withdrawal of snipers from the line of contact." Parliamentary cooperation committees are set up based on the cooperation agreement with the European Union and the third countries, and are composed of Members of both Parliaments. The EU-Armenia PCC meets once a year altering the premises of the European Parliament and the National Assembly of Armenia.
