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EU RELUCTANT TO THINK ARMENIAN ELECTION WILL BE UNFAIR
Lragir.am
24 July 06
Peter Semneby, EU special representative to the South Caucasus, who
is visiting Yerevan, was rather rough with regard to the upcoming
Armenian parliamentary election in a news conference on July 24.
Semneby said a free and fair election will determine the quality of
relations between Armenia and the EU. The special representative of
the European Union announced that the Armenian individual partnership
program of the New Neighborhood Policy and the parliamentary election
are interdependent. The parliamentary election was one of the four
questions Semneby discussed with the Armenian leadership. The first
three are the Individual Partnership Program, Karabakh and Armenia's
relations with its neighbors. However, during the news conference
Semneby dwelled on the individual partnership and the parliamentary
election.
Meanwhile, Vardan Oskanyan announced in the news conference that
the IPP is almost complete, and Finland chairing the EU will soon
decide the time of signing this document. Vardan Oskanyan assures
that Finland plans to sign the IPPs with the three South Caucasian
states until the end of its chairmanship. Peter Semneby who spoke
after Vardan Oskanyan immediately announced that he wants to connect
dividual partnership and the Armenian parliamentary election because
the IPP assumes fair and free elections compliant with the European
standards as a prime goal of Armenia.
Peter Semneby said the upcoming election will have vital importance
for EU-Armenia relations and emphasized that every election must be
compliant with their standards. By the way, in speaking about Armenia
he said the upcoming Azerbaijani election, but then he apologized
and added that elections must be fair and free in all the countries
of the South Caucasus.
Peter Semneby declined to say what consequences an incompliant election
would have for Armenia. He said he expected free and fair elections,
therefore he declined to make hypothetical speeches about sanctions
in case the elections are not free and fair. After all, Peter
Semneby said, Armenia assumed an obligation to conduct elections
in compliance with European standards. It is notable that after
Vardan Oskanyan answered a question about a different topic Semneby
carried on the topic of elections and said that the European Union
will be following the evaluation of international observers to the
parliamentary election. Semneby said after the election the EU will
build up relations with Armenia on the basis of evaluation given by
the observers.
Lragir.am
24 July 06
Peter Semneby, EU special representative to the South Caucasus, who
is visiting Yerevan, was rather rough with regard to the upcoming
Armenian parliamentary election in a news conference on July 24.
Semneby said a free and fair election will determine the quality of
relations between Armenia and the EU. The special representative of
the European Union announced that the Armenian individual partnership
program of the New Neighborhood Policy and the parliamentary election
are interdependent. The parliamentary election was one of the four
questions Semneby discussed with the Armenian leadership. The first
three are the Individual Partnership Program, Karabakh and Armenia's
relations with its neighbors. However, during the news conference
Semneby dwelled on the individual partnership and the parliamentary
election.
Meanwhile, Vardan Oskanyan announced in the news conference that
the IPP is almost complete, and Finland chairing the EU will soon
decide the time of signing this document. Vardan Oskanyan assures
that Finland plans to sign the IPPs with the three South Caucasian
states until the end of its chairmanship. Peter Semneby who spoke
after Vardan Oskanyan immediately announced that he wants to connect
dividual partnership and the Armenian parliamentary election because
the IPP assumes fair and free elections compliant with the European
standards as a prime goal of Armenia.
Peter Semneby said the upcoming election will have vital importance
for EU-Armenia relations and emphasized that every election must be
compliant with their standards. By the way, in speaking about Armenia
he said the upcoming Azerbaijani election, but then he apologized
and added that elections must be fair and free in all the countries
of the South Caucasus.
Peter Semneby declined to say what consequences an incompliant election
would have for Armenia. He said he expected free and fair elections,
therefore he declined to make hypothetical speeches about sanctions
in case the elections are not free and fair. After all, Peter
Semneby said, Armenia assumed an obligation to conduct elections
in compliance with European standards. It is notable that after
Vardan Oskanyan answered a question about a different topic Semneby
carried on the topic of elections and said that the European Union
will be following the evaluation of international observers to the
parliamentary election. Semneby said after the election the EU will
build up relations with Armenia on the basis of evaluation given by
the observers.