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TSARUKIAN MEETS TOP EU OFFICIAL IN BRUSSELS
Belgium -- European Commissioner for Enlargement and European
Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fule (L) meets Prosperous Armenia Party
leader Gagik Tsarukian in Brussels, 06Dec2012.
Elina Chilingarian and Ruzanna Stepanian Õ~@O~@Õ¡ÕºÕ¡O~@Õ¡Õ¯Õ¾Õ¡Õ®
Õ§Õ~] 07.12.2012
Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) Gagik Tsarukian discussed the upcoming
Armenian presidential election with the European Union's Enlargement
and Neighborhood Policy Commissioner Stefan Fuele at the end of a
three-day visit to Brussels late on Thursday.
"Reforms related to the European agenda and the implementation
of OSCE/ODIHR recommendations in the context of the forthcoming
presidential elections were discussed at the meeting," Fuele's office
said in a statement that referred to the BHK as "the biggest opposition
party" in the Armenian parliament.
"The Commissioner appealed for a critical, but constructive engagement
of the opposition with the authorities in the process," said the
statement.
It added that Fuele also called on Tsarukian and senior BHK members
accompanying him to "build multi-partisan consensus around reforms
which are needed for effective future implementation" of an Association
Agreement currently negotiated by the EU and Armenia.
The statement did not say if they discussed Tsarukian's participation
in the ballot slated for February. The BHK leader is expected to
announce next week whether he will stand as a candidate.
Naira Zohrabian, a senior BHK lawmaker who also travelled to Brussels,
said on Friday that Tsarukian's visit was "highly successful" and
left EU officials left with "absolutely positive impressions" about
the BHK and its leader. Tsarukian's presidential candidacy is now
"definitely comprehensible" to the EU, she told RFE/RL's Armenian
service (Azatutyun.am).
Tsarukian caused a stir in Yerevan when he told a deputy speaker of
the European Parliament on Wednesday that Armenia is run by corrupt
individuals. President Serzh Sarkisian's Republican Party of Armenia
(HHK) swiftly rejected that allegation as "shameful." An HHK spokesman
also charged on Thursday that the BHK is regarded as an "artificial
force" in Europe.
Zohrabian hit back at the HHK criticism, saying that the ruling party
is now "in panic." She insisted that Tsarukian referred to a corrupt
government "system" rather than concrete individuals.
"What he meant is that corruption is an extremely serious systemic
disaster in Armenia and that individuals whose work is not producing
results have no right to engage in anti-corruption struggles,"
said Zohrabian.
http://www.armenialiberty.org/content/article/24792117.html
Belgium -- European Commissioner for Enlargement and European
Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fule (L) meets Prosperous Armenia Party
leader Gagik Tsarukian in Brussels, 06Dec2012.
Elina Chilingarian and Ruzanna Stepanian Õ~@O~@Õ¡ÕºÕ¡O~@Õ¡Õ¯Õ¾Õ¡Õ®
Õ§Õ~] 07.12.2012
Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) Gagik Tsarukian discussed the upcoming
Armenian presidential election with the European Union's Enlargement
and Neighborhood Policy Commissioner Stefan Fuele at the end of a
three-day visit to Brussels late on Thursday.
"Reforms related to the European agenda and the implementation
of OSCE/ODIHR recommendations in the context of the forthcoming
presidential elections were discussed at the meeting," Fuele's office
said in a statement that referred to the BHK as "the biggest opposition
party" in the Armenian parliament.
"The Commissioner appealed for a critical, but constructive engagement
of the opposition with the authorities in the process," said the
statement.
It added that Fuele also called on Tsarukian and senior BHK members
accompanying him to "build multi-partisan consensus around reforms
which are needed for effective future implementation" of an Association
Agreement currently negotiated by the EU and Armenia.
The statement did not say if they discussed Tsarukian's participation
in the ballot slated for February. The BHK leader is expected to
announce next week whether he will stand as a candidate.
Naira Zohrabian, a senior BHK lawmaker who also travelled to Brussels,
said on Friday that Tsarukian's visit was "highly successful" and
left EU officials left with "absolutely positive impressions" about
the BHK and its leader. Tsarukian's presidential candidacy is now
"definitely comprehensible" to the EU, she told RFE/RL's Armenian
service (Azatutyun.am).
Tsarukian caused a stir in Yerevan when he told a deputy speaker of
the European Parliament on Wednesday that Armenia is run by corrupt
individuals. President Serzh Sarkisian's Republican Party of Armenia
(HHK) swiftly rejected that allegation as "shameful." An HHK spokesman
also charged on Thursday that the BHK is regarded as an "artificial
force" in Europe.
Zohrabian hit back at the HHK criticism, saying that the ruling party
is now "in panic." She insisted that Tsarukian referred to a corrupt
government "system" rather than concrete individuals.
"What he meant is that corruption is an extremely serious systemic
disaster in Armenia and that individuals whose work is not producing
results have no right to engage in anti-corruption struggles,"
said Zohrabian.
http://www.armenialiberty.org/content/article/24792117.html