With Honor faction never voted for bill on Armenia`s admission to EU

ArmInfo.The With Honor faction did not discuss the issue of whether it would vote "for" or  "against" the bill on EU accession, which will be presented in Parliament.  This was stated by the leader of the opposition "I have the honor" faction Hayk Mamijanyan during a briefing in Parliament.

"When the issue reaches the plenary session, we will express our  position," he emphasized.

At the same time, he expressed hope that the political forces  initiating this bill will be honest with the people and say that, in  fact, the EU, with the exception of a few parliamentarians, has not  expressed positive reactions to such an initiative. "Nobody invited  us to the EU," the oppositionist added.

Mamijanyan asked to familiarize himself with the internal working  documents of the EU, which discuss and analyze the states - potential  members of the European Union on various indicators, starting from  the economic situation and ending with issues related to human  rights.

<So in these documents, Armenia is not even considered, no analysis  is carried out, whether the country is ready or not for EU  membership. So, let them (the initiators of the bill - ed.) be kind  to the public and present the real state of affairs>, - the head of  the faction "I have the honor" noted.

At the same time, he referred to studies prepared by EU experts,  which provide an analysis of the economic benefits for Armenia upon  joining the European Union. According to the analysis, membership in  the EU after 3 years will have an impact on economic growth in the  range of 1-1.5%. <Moreover, European partners noted that membership  in the Customs Union, in the EAEU is more beneficial and logical for  Armenia. And we see the fairness of such judgments in the annual  statistical reports>, - he said.

The MP also referred to the statement of Deputy Foreign Minister of  Armenia Paruyr Hovhannisyan, who years earlier pointed out the  enormous opportunities for deepening relations with the EU within the  framework of the CEPA (Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced  Partnership Agreement, signed in 2017). "Then the Deputy Minister  noted that all opportunities provided by the CEPA should be  implemented first, and then it will be possible to talk about EU  membership," Mamijanyan recalled.

On January 9, 2025, the Armenian government approved the draft law of  the Republic of Armenia "On the beginning of the process of accession  of the Republic of Armenia to the European Union". It should be  recalled that in September-October 2024, signatures were collected in  order to submit the draft law "On the beginning of the process of  accession of the Republic of Armenia to the European Union" for  discussion in parliament. The initiative belongs to the "Platform of  Democratic Forces", formed by pro-Western political forces. They  managed to collect 60,000 signatures instead of the required 50,000,  and the Central Election Commission of the Republic recognized them  as valid on December 10, 2024, and the issue was submitted to  parliament for discussion. After the Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister  Nikol Pashinyan made an explanation. He urged not to perceive the  adopted decision as an application for immediate accession to the EU.  The Prime Minister also noted that after the adoption of the law, a  certain idea of actions should be formed, including whether or not to  hold a potential referendum.

<I believe that after the adoption of this law, we should discuss  with the EU the roadmap that they present and that we present, we  should develop a roadmap together. As far as I understand, the  Republic of Armenia cannot take any action, at least for now, before  the start of negotiations on the creation of a roadmap. I say this in  order to correctly formulate the expectations of the public>, - the  Prime Minister noted. As Pashinyan pointed out, during this time,  very serious developments have taken place in the relations between  Armenia and the EU, one of which is the start of negotiations on the  liberalization of the visa regime, an issue that has been on  Armenia's agenda for decades.

The referendum will take place if the MPs approve this bill. If they  reject it, the referendum may take place - and without discussion in  parliament. But only if the initiators manage to collect five times  more signatures, that is, 300 thousand. Moreover, at the second  stage, those almost 60 thousand people who have already supported the  initiative will not be able to join the vote.

According to the RA Statistical Committee, Armenia's foreign trade  turnover with the EAEU countries in January-November 2024 amounted to  $11.9 billion, which is 68.3% higher than the same period last year.   At the same time, exports decreased by 10.1% to $3.1 billion, against  the backdrop of a 2.4-fold increase in imports to $8.8 billion. The  EAEU accounts for 42.2% of the foreign trade volume.  The EU  countries account for 7.5%. In particular, the volume of trade  decreased by 14.1%, amounting to $2.1 billion. At the same time,  export volumes for the year decreased by 18.6% to $551.8 million,  against the backdrop of a 12.4% decline in imports to $1.6 billion.