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  • EU News from AGBU Europe

    AGBU Europe
    131, Rue Stassart,
    1050 Brussels, Belgium
    Tel: +32 27 62 67 97
    Fax: +32 25 02 62 30

    Contact: Anush Nazaryan
    Email: [email protected]
    Tel: +32 2 762 67 07
    Web: http://www.agbueeurope.org/



    EU News from AGBU Europe

    Also in this newsletter:

    1. Eastern Partnership Year Two: Opportunities for Armenia.

    2. EU Council: Turkey Must Step Up the Pace of Reforms... and Ratify the
    Armenia-Turkey Protocols

    3. Vacancy: Internship at AGBU Europe's EU office

    The Nagorno Karabagh Campaign in short:

    '[The European Parliament] asks the Commission and Mr Semneby to extend
    the same kind of aid and information dissemination to Nagorno-Karabakh.'
    European Parliament, 17, January, 2008

    - The small republic of Nagorno Karabakh suffers from a de-facto EU
    boycott.

    - The EU should engage with the people of Karabakh, provide humanitarian
    assistance, promote confidence-building measures and help prevent war.

    - Working with the people of Karabakh is a humanitarian imperative and
    serves the interest of peace.

    - Nagorno Karabakh Armenians secured their independence after a war,
    between 1991 and 1994. An estimated 30 000 died on both sides. 17 years
    after the end of the war, the territory's independence has not been
    recognized internationally and its status is still under negotiation.

    What you can do:

    - Raise the issue with a Member of Parliament, government official, civil
    society organization or journalist

    - Join the campaign on

    facebook: [http://apps.facebook.com/causes/300323]
    http://ap ps.facebook.com/causes/300323

    -Visit our campaign homepage at:
    [http://en.agbueurope.org/2009/10/08/karabakh/ ]
    http://en.agbueurope.org/2009/10/08/karabakh/

    - Contact us to find out more or help: [mailto:[email protected]]
    anazaryan@agbueu rope.org

    - More information and resources are available at:
    [http://www.insideeurope.org/issues/nagorno-kh arabakh]
    http://www.insideeurope.org/issues/nagorn o-kharabakh

    AGBU Europe Campaign:

    Europe Must Support Karabakh and Peace

    Nicolas Tavitian

    International co-operation and conflict resolution are among the European
    Union's core values. The reconciliation between France and Germany after
    World War II is the ultimate reference in conflict transformation, and
    served as inspiration for many an attempt at resolving disputes since 1991.

    Then, as now, the European institutions combined economic development with
    international cooperation to promote understanding between nations. Today,
    the EU funds projects everywhere in Europe and in its neighbourhood,
    including in conflict areas. It is particularly keen on promoting
    cooperation across borders in all regions of Europe, including in the
    fractious Balkans, in Cyprus or between Greece and Turkey for instance.
    With creditable single-mindedness, the EU has promoted humanitarian or
    development assistance in conflict zones.

    In conflict areas, the Union also promotes «confidence-building»
    initiatives and programmes aimed at supporting the civilian populations who
    suffered from conflicts and their aftermath.
    In Ossetia and Abkhazia, for instance, millions have been spent on
    economic assistance. After the war of August 2008 between Georgia and
    Russia, the EU redoubled its support with reconstruction and humanitarian
    assistance [1].

    In sum, Europe is present everywhere in Europe. Except in Karabakh. Since
    the end of the war over the territory, in 1994, the European Union has
    accepted no contact with the authorities of Karabakh or with its civil
    society, has granted absolutely no humanitarian or economic support to
    Karabakh and has authorized no confidence-building measures. The EU's
    special representative for the South Caucasus, Peter Semneby, has never
    been to Karabakh, though he regularly travels to Sukhumi (Abkhazia) and to
    Tskhinvali (South Ossetia). Two republics which EU Member States do not
    recognize as independent countries any more than they recognize Karabakh.
    Since the war, Azerbaijan's approach has been to blockade Karabakh and
    exclude it from negotiations about its own future. But Azerbaijan's
    policy of isolating Karabakh is neither effective nor justifiable. If
    Azerbaijan is serious about conflict resolution, it will have to accept to
    talk with the leadership of Karabakh proper and to engage in
    confidence-building between the societies of Azerbaijan and of Karabakh.

    [The] Azerbaijani army and society should be ready to liberate our lands
    from occupants any time in every possible way. Heydar Aliyev, President of
    Azerbaijan. 25, December, 2009
    Yet the EU itself is acting as if it had joined this boycott, in stark
    contradiction with its values and practices in almost every other part of
    the world.
    Isolating Karabakh is an ineffective policy from the point of view of
    conflict resolution and reconciliation; it is also immoral. It is now
    universally recognized that populations should not be held hostage to
    international conflict. It is this logic which has led the Union to provide
    support to populations, regardless of their country's regime. The EU even
    funded humanitarian aid in such pariah states as Iraq under Saddam Hussein,
    in Myanmar and in North Korea as well as in non recognized states such as
    Transnistria, Kosovo and many others.
    In stark contrast with EU policy, the USA, for one, do provide
    humanitarian aid to projects in Karabakh. The US Congress voted a new
    budget of 8 million in December 2009.

    The argument in favour of engaging with Karabakh and its society is
    overwhelming and AGBU Europe is now running a campaign urging the European
    institutions to establish contact with the leadership in Karabakh without
    waiting any longer and to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of
    Karabakh.

    The organisation is also calling upon the EU to promote
    confidence-building measures between Armenians in Karabakh and Azeris.
    Without such confidence-building measures, the Minsk Group peace
    negotiations are unlikely to bring about a lasting peace, regardless of the
    skill or imagination of the diplomats involves.
    Additionally, in view of the threats of war repeatedly made by the
    leadership of Azerbaijan, AGBU also calls upon the European institutions to
    consider deploying a presence on the contact line between the Armenian and
    Azeri soldiers. This should help prevent the resumption of a war.
    AGBU began its work in support of Karabakh at EU level in 2008. The
    organisation hosted the first visit by NK representatives to the EU
    institutions since 1999. It has also recently had the opportunity to hold a
    round table to bring to the attention of EU decision-makers the numerous
    instances of destruction of Armenian heritage which have recently taken
    place in Azerbaijan.
    Raising these concerns has already borne some fruit. The European
    Commission organized an informal meeting bringing together representatives
    of civil society in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Karabakh and it is currently
    studying measures to be set in place to help promote exchanges between
    Armenians and Azeris. But much remains to be done and AGBU Europe calls on
    all people of goodwill to contribute to disseminating its message to
    decision-makers in EU Member States.
    Of all "non-recognized" territories in Europe, Karabakh has suffered the
    most from a brutal repression, from the war, and from a 17-year blockade.
    It deserves the humanitarian support of the European Union and will obtain
    it, if its case is made.

    1. A complete, official report on the subject is available at:
    [http://www.delgeo.ec.europa.eu/en/programmes/ Nov09.doc]
    http://www.delgeo.ec.europa.eu/en/progr ammes/Nov09.doc

    EU Council : Turkey Must Step Up the Pace of Reforms... and Ratify the
    Armenia-Turkey Protocols

    In December 2009, the EU Council of Ministers adopted its annual statement
    on EU enlargement, covering accession negotiations with Turkey.
    While recognizing some progress, the Council also expressed concern about
    the pace of reform and "invited Turkey to step up the pace of reforms and
    to implement measures which have been started." The Council insisted that
    "further efforts to ensure that Turkey fully meets the Copenhagen criteria
    are required in a number of areas including freedom of expression, freedom
    of the press, freedom of religion in law and in practice for all religious
    communities, respect for property rights, trade union rights, rights of
    persons belonging to minorities, civilian oversight of the military and
    women's and children's rights, anti-discrimination and gender equality."

    The Council also "welcomes the significant diplomatic efforts made [by
    Turkey] to normalise relations with Armenia, resulting in the historic
    signature of protocols for the normalisation of relations in October 2009.
    It looks forward to the ratification and implementation of the protocols as
    soon as possible."

    The Commission report which informs this resolution provides an
    instructive catalogue of Turkey's shortcomings from the point of view of
    EU law and practice.

    In connection with Turkey's treatment of Armenians, it refers to the
    judicial system's shortcomings in the context of the trial of the
    assassins of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink; to remaining restrictions on
    freedom of expression in Turkey, but also to the public apology by Turkish
    intellectuals for what they called the "Great Catastrophe" (the 1915
    Armenian Genocide); to discrimination against Christians in the courts and
    to the reform of the law on (non-Muslim) foundations, to continuing
    restrictions on the property rights of Christians, and more.

    For further information:

    -
    [http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ue docs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/EN/genaff/111830.pdf]
    8/12/2009 Council Conclusions

    -
    [http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pr ess_corner/key-documents/reports_oct_2009_en.htm]
    EC report on Turkey's Progress Towards Accession

    -
    [http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/ getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P6-TA-2009-0134+0+ DOC+XML+V0//EN]
    The European Parliament's resolution on Turkey's Progress Towards
    Accession

    Eastern Partnership Year Two: Opportunities for Armenia On their last
    Summit in 2009, on December 11, EU leaders celebrated the Eastern
    Partnership, launched in May 2009, and `noted with satisfaction all the
    recent steps and initiatives taken to strengthen and deepen the relations
    between the EU and the Partners'.

    The EaP is without a question a step forward in Armenia's integration
    into the European project and provides a number of new and significant
    opportunities. The EU is considering an Association Agreement with Armenia.
    This is also of practical importance, not least before this particular
    agreement if successfully concluded, should establish free trade between
    Armenia and European Union and bring Armenia fully into the European
    economic sphere, the world's largest economic block. The prospect of an
    association agreement is also symbolically important, as an association
    agreement can be a preliminary to EU accession.
    Negotiations to make travelling to EU countries easier for Armenian
    citizens are also on the cards, a welcome step, as current visa
    requirements and procedures remain a hindrance to cooperation and
    exchanges.
    At a meeting with European Association working with European Commission
    on the EaP, AGBU Europe expressed their support for the EaP and its
    objectives. AGBU Europe also offered its support to the European Commission
    in a recent letter signed jointly by seven European civil society
    organizations in contributing to public involvement in the policy's
    development.
    The overall purpose of the Eastern Partnership is to enhance cooperation
    with the countries of the EU's Eastern neighborhood - Armenia,
    Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The policy was developed
    following an initial proposal from Poland and Sweden.

    The countries of the Eastern Partnership are strategically important for
    the EU and improving their political and economic situation is a one of the
    project's priorities. The policy therefore envisages assistance to
    domestic reforms and state-building in the six countries concerned,
    reinforced relations through the negotiation of bilateral agreements and a
    new multilateral framework of dialogue between EU and participating
    countries aiming to develop common initiatives. Four `platforms' bring
    all 6 countries to work together on the following aspects:

    1. Democracy, good governance and stability;

    2. Economic integration and convergence with EU sectoral policies;

    3. Energy security

    4. Contacts between people.
    The EaP, like the ENP before it, is not officially a step towards EU
    membership, but it is an important platform for institutional integration
    and a step towards membership prospects.
    Armenia in particular welcomed the initiative, which it considers an
    important step for establishing closer cooperation with its neighbours and
    with the EU. Among other benefits the EaP will provide an opportunity to
    strengthen the EU's contribution to political, economic, legislative
    reforms in Armenia.
    In addition to cooperation at governmental level the EaP's multilateral
    framework promotes the active participation of civil society in
    policy-making and implementation. A special Civil Society Forum first
    assembled in November 2009 in Brussels and Parliamentary Assembly will
    accompany the process.

    The EaP's official website is:

    [http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/easte rn]
    http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/eastern

    /index_en.htm

    Traineeship in AGBU Europe, EU Office
    The AGBU Europe EU office is seeking a trainee to support its
    communication activities. The duration of the traineeship is between 3 and
    5 months.

    Main responsibilities:

    - To update the data-base of contacts of the organization

    - Correspondance and networking

    - Assist with the logistical assignments for events organization

    -Support working cooperatively with other organizations

    -To support the coordinator of the organization's EU office with
    administrative work
    Required qualifications:

    - He/she should preferably be a last year student or graduate of political
    science, international relations or any other field relevant to the work
    assignments of the organization

    - Good command of written and spoken English is necessary

    - Dynamic person, good team player and with strong sense of
    responsibility
    We offer the opportunity to play a part in a dynamic organization, work
    with challenging issu es and gain experience of public affairs with the EU.

    Deadline for application: 5, February, 2010

    Period of internship: 3- 5 months

    Interviews: 18-19, February, 2010

    Starting date: 1, March, 2010

    Remuneration : a stipend to cover livingexpenses in Brussels

    Please send a motivation letter and your CV attached to the following

    email: [mailto:[email protected]] [email protected]

    As an independent, non governmental organization AGBU Europe is dependent
    on the involvement of all those who share its purpose and objectives. Help,
    donations and feedback are always welcome. Please contact :

    Anush Nazaryan

    131, rue de Stassart,
    Brussels,Belgium

    [mailto:anazaryan@agbu europe.org] [email protected] Tel: :+32 27
    62 67 97

    131,rue Stassart,1050,Brussels,Belgium.T:+32 27 62 67 97,F:+32 25 02 62
    30,E:[email protected],W:agbueurope.org
    T his message was sent by: Anush Nazaryan, 131, Stassart street, Brussels, Brussels 1050, Belgium

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