Yerevan: Let`s hope that technical issues do not prevent the signing of the Armenia-EU framework agreement in November in Brussels

ArmInfo. The European Union and Armenia announced at a high level on their readiness to sign an agreement on a comprehensive and expanded partnership at the Eastern Partnership summit in Brussels. Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Karen Nazaryan stated this in a conversation with journalists in Yerevan on October 24, answering the question whether Armenia will actually sign a framework agreement with the EU in November of this year.

"According to my recent data, and these data are current, the EU has already managed to translate the agreement into 23 languages, and all the rest of the technical issues are in the process of harmonization." That is, in the countries participating in the Organization, the agreement must pass the relevant domestic procedures that differ from each other. Today there is a technical issue here and it is difficult to find any sensation in this, "the deputy minister said.

The clarifying question that technical issues will not prevent the signing of the agreement on November 24 at the Eastern Partnership summit in Brussels, Nazarian, in particular, said: "Do you want me to answer for the 28 EU member states? Let's hope not."

At the same time, Nazaryan believes that there will be no member countries of the Organization who oppose the signing of the agreement. According to him, the document before signature has already passed the relevant procedure and was approved.

Recall that in October 2015, the European Union granted a mandate to its executive body, the European Commission, to start negotiations with Armenia on a new legal framework for relations. This framework document is intended to replace the Association Agreement, which was agreed by Yerevan and Brussels, but was not initialed, since in September 2013 Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan unexpectedly for many said about Armenia's decision to participate in Eurasian integration, which, in fact, meant a breakdown signing of the Association Agreement.

Yerevan and Brussels later began to consider the possibility of negotiating a less ambitious agreement, which would not contradict Armenia's obligations in the framework of its membership in the Eurasian Economic Union. The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, after meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian on December 7, 2015 in Brussels, said that the start of a new negotiating stage would close the page of uncertainty that arose after 2013. On February 27, 2017, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, after talks with European Council President Donald Tusk in Brussels, announced the completion of the talks. On March 21, 2017, Armenia and the EU initialed the Agreement on Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership. It is expected that the agreement will be signed on November 24 at Summit in Brussels.