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THE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW OF ARMENPRESS WITH PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE HERMAN VAN ROMPUY
Armen Ghazaryan
ARMENPRESS
29 June, 2012
YEREVAN
YEREVAN, JUNE 29, ARMENPRESS: President of the Council of Europe
Herman Van Rompuy will visit Yerevan next week. Prior the visit,
"Armenpress" interviewed Herman Van Rompuy on Armenia-European Union
relations, Nagorno Karabakh conflict and regulation processes of
Armenian-Turkish relations.
Mr. President, in the past few years Armenia and the European Union
have registered important progress in their bilateral relations. In
your assessment what further steps do the two parties need to enhance
the quality of these relations?
We are experiencing overall progress in the EU-Armenian relationship.
The Association Agreement is moving forward, and we have started
negotiations on the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area. Earlier
this year we also launched negotiations on Visa Facilitation and
Readmission Agreement. In addition to this, the European Union
provides different forms of support to Armenia including on institution
building. Let me underline that the European Union is in many ways a
community of principles and values.Armenia has, as a partner in the
Eastern Partnership, signed up to share these values.
Closer association between the EU and Armenia is directly linked
to this aspiration. I therefore encourage Armenia to continue on
the path of reform, towards strengthening democratic institutions,
promoting transparency, human rights and the rule of law. The stronger
Armenia's commitment to pursue genuine reform, the more we will be able
to cooperate and support you. In this context, the EU welcomes the
efforts made by the Armenian authorities to deliver more transparent
and competitive parliamentary elections. This was an important step
forward, although there still are a number of issues that will need
to be addressed, as identified in the Final Report by the OSCE/ODIHR
Election Observation Mission. We trust that these issues will be
addressed before the upcoming Presidential elections.
How long, in your opinion, will it take to conclude Deep and
Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement between Armenia and the EU, and
in which particular ways can it be mutually beneficial for the parties?
There is no time limit for the negotiations. Their pace depends on the
willingness and readiness of the parties to advance. The outcome and
the results matter more than the speed of such negotiations. Three
rounds of negotiations have been scheduled for 2012 and given the
commitment presented by Armenia so far, the EU considers that the
negotiations could progress smoothly and rapidly. I expect that this
future agreement will open up many new opportunities for Armenia.
Exporters will be able to take advantage of the further opening of the
EU internal market for Armenian goods and services. It is known that
progress in Armenia-EU relations was mainly due to Eastern Partnership
initiative, in which six countries take part.
How do you assess the progress of this initiative and what countries
have registered the best results?
We launched the Eastern Partnership in 2009 with a clear aim to
support reforms in Eastern partner countries, and accelerate their
political and economic association with the European Union. Much has
already been achieved. Negotiations on Association Agreements with
Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas are very well advanced with
the Republic of Moldova, Georgia and, as I mentioned, Armenia. Similar
negotiations have already been completed with Ukraine though final
ratification will depend on the respect of the values Ukraine
signed up to through the Eastern Partnership. Selective justice and
criminalisation of the opposition are for instance not compatible
with these values. Negotiations on an Association Agreement are
also under way with Azerbaijan. We are also aiming to make travel
between the EU and partner countries easier for citizens, with visa
free regime as the ultimate goal. We already have a process with
the Republic of Moldova and Ukrainein place for visa liberalisation,
and we will soon start a similar exercise with Georgia. Negotiations
on visa facilitation and readmission agreements are under way with
Armenia and Azerbaijan and a comparable offer has been extended to
Belarus. The EU can also offer support to reinforce institutions, and
such co-operation is advancing well in Armenia, Georgia and Moldova.
Additionally, the Eastern Partnership provides a platform for
multilateral cooperation between the EU and all six partners to enhance
regional cooperation and exchange best practices. Civil society,
national parliaments and local and regional authorities are also
associated to these initiatives. The EU is determined to continue
support partners by sharing know-how, giving political support and
providing financial assistance. Nonetheless, this support is determined
by the pace of reforms.
The settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is one of the priorities
of the EU in the South Caucasus. It was very often stated that
the EU wants to contribute to confidence building measures between
Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan. Could you please specify what are
those measures and in what other spheres the EU is ready to contribute?
I would like to underline that military force will not resolve the
conflict. Only a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
will help transform the South Caucasus into a stable region and a
fully functioning gateway between Europe and Asia. This is clearly in
the best interest of our partner countries, Armenia and Azerbaijan,
and is also an important interest for the European Union. The EU has
reinvigorated its support to the work of the OSCE Minsk group. We
welcome all the considerable efforts, including the latest statement
at the G20 summit, of the Co-Chairs; France, theRussian Federation
and the United States of America. The responsibility to reach an
agreement is essentially in the hands of Armenia and Azerbaijan,
and we urge them to pursue a peaceful solution based on the Madrid
principles with vision, wisdom and courage. We are concerned at the
slow progress in the negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan to
resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. And it was with great concern
that I learnt about recent violence along the Line of Contact and the
border between Azerbaijan and Armenia. I deeply regret the tragic and
unnecessary loss of life. The European Union has repeatedly expressed
readiness to contribute to confidence building measures, where it can
help the work of the OSCE Minsk Group. In this regard, the European
Union is prepared to further promote the engagement of civil society
in confidence-building and contacts between the populations on both
sides. This will help foster trust and allow people affected by the
conflict to fully take part in the debates on perspectives for peace.
In addition, the EU conducts regular political dialogue with both
partner countries, and has also appointed the EU Special Representative
for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, Ambassador Phillipe
Lefort. We also support the OSCE-proposed mechanism to investigate
ceasefire violations and stand ready to share the EU's relevant
experience and good practices in promoting conflict transformation.
Recently the European Parliament has adopted a resolution, expressing
the wish to have unconditional access to Nagorno-Karabakh. What were
the incentives for such steps? Can this be considered as a step in
the direction of de jure recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh ?
No, this does not constitute any form of recognition of
Nagorno-Karabakh. The Council of the European Union, as well as
the European Parliament, have underlined the need for unrestricted
access for EU representatives to Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding
regions. For the EU, this is a principled and pragmatic matter, as
it would help turn into action our readiness to support confidence
building measures now and to provide rehabilitation and reconstruction
assistance once a settlement is achieved.
The Armenian-Turkish border is the last one in Europe. Is it acceptable
to have closed borders in the 21st century in modern Europe, while
Turkey is still trying to impose precondition for the establishment
of Armenian-Turkish diplomatic relations?
The European Union encourages Armenia and Turkey to normalize
their bilateral relations without preconditions (from any side). We
believe that the full normalization of relations between Armenia
and Turkey would be an important contribution to security, stability
and cooperation in the Southern Caucasus. We call on both countries
to continue their dialogue and remain committed to the process. An
important first step would indeed be the opening of the border.
From: A. Papazian
Armen Ghazaryan
ARMENPRESS
29 June, 2012
YEREVAN
YEREVAN, JUNE 29, ARMENPRESS: President of the Council of Europe
Herman Van Rompuy will visit Yerevan next week. Prior the visit,
"Armenpress" interviewed Herman Van Rompuy on Armenia-European Union
relations, Nagorno Karabakh conflict and regulation processes of
Armenian-Turkish relations.
Mr. President, in the past few years Armenia and the European Union
have registered important progress in their bilateral relations. In
your assessment what further steps do the two parties need to enhance
the quality of these relations?
We are experiencing overall progress in the EU-Armenian relationship.
The Association Agreement is moving forward, and we have started
negotiations on the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area. Earlier
this year we also launched negotiations on Visa Facilitation and
Readmission Agreement. In addition to this, the European Union
provides different forms of support to Armenia including on institution
building. Let me underline that the European Union is in many ways a
community of principles and values.Armenia has, as a partner in the
Eastern Partnership, signed up to share these values.
Closer association between the EU and Armenia is directly linked
to this aspiration. I therefore encourage Armenia to continue on
the path of reform, towards strengthening democratic institutions,
promoting transparency, human rights and the rule of law. The stronger
Armenia's commitment to pursue genuine reform, the more we will be able
to cooperate and support you. In this context, the EU welcomes the
efforts made by the Armenian authorities to deliver more transparent
and competitive parliamentary elections. This was an important step
forward, although there still are a number of issues that will need
to be addressed, as identified in the Final Report by the OSCE/ODIHR
Election Observation Mission. We trust that these issues will be
addressed before the upcoming Presidential elections.
How long, in your opinion, will it take to conclude Deep and
Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement between Armenia and the EU, and
in which particular ways can it be mutually beneficial for the parties?
There is no time limit for the negotiations. Their pace depends on the
willingness and readiness of the parties to advance. The outcome and
the results matter more than the speed of such negotiations. Three
rounds of negotiations have been scheduled for 2012 and given the
commitment presented by Armenia so far, the EU considers that the
negotiations could progress smoothly and rapidly. I expect that this
future agreement will open up many new opportunities for Armenia.
Exporters will be able to take advantage of the further opening of the
EU internal market for Armenian goods and services. It is known that
progress in Armenia-EU relations was mainly due to Eastern Partnership
initiative, in which six countries take part.
How do you assess the progress of this initiative and what countries
have registered the best results?
We launched the Eastern Partnership in 2009 with a clear aim to
support reforms in Eastern partner countries, and accelerate their
political and economic association with the European Union. Much has
already been achieved. Negotiations on Association Agreements with
Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas are very well advanced with
the Republic of Moldova, Georgia and, as I mentioned, Armenia. Similar
negotiations have already been completed with Ukraine though final
ratification will depend on the respect of the values Ukraine
signed up to through the Eastern Partnership. Selective justice and
criminalisation of the opposition are for instance not compatible
with these values. Negotiations on an Association Agreement are
also under way with Azerbaijan. We are also aiming to make travel
between the EU and partner countries easier for citizens, with visa
free regime as the ultimate goal. We already have a process with
the Republic of Moldova and Ukrainein place for visa liberalisation,
and we will soon start a similar exercise with Georgia. Negotiations
on visa facilitation and readmission agreements are under way with
Armenia and Azerbaijan and a comparable offer has been extended to
Belarus. The EU can also offer support to reinforce institutions, and
such co-operation is advancing well in Armenia, Georgia and Moldova.
Additionally, the Eastern Partnership provides a platform for
multilateral cooperation between the EU and all six partners to enhance
regional cooperation and exchange best practices. Civil society,
national parliaments and local and regional authorities are also
associated to these initiatives. The EU is determined to continue
support partners by sharing know-how, giving political support and
providing financial assistance. Nonetheless, this support is determined
by the pace of reforms.
The settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is one of the priorities
of the EU in the South Caucasus. It was very often stated that
the EU wants to contribute to confidence building measures between
Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan. Could you please specify what are
those measures and in what other spheres the EU is ready to contribute?
I would like to underline that military force will not resolve the
conflict. Only a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
will help transform the South Caucasus into a stable region and a
fully functioning gateway between Europe and Asia. This is clearly in
the best interest of our partner countries, Armenia and Azerbaijan,
and is also an important interest for the European Union. The EU has
reinvigorated its support to the work of the OSCE Minsk group. We
welcome all the considerable efforts, including the latest statement
at the G20 summit, of the Co-Chairs; France, theRussian Federation
and the United States of America. The responsibility to reach an
agreement is essentially in the hands of Armenia and Azerbaijan,
and we urge them to pursue a peaceful solution based on the Madrid
principles with vision, wisdom and courage. We are concerned at the
slow progress in the negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan to
resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. And it was with great concern
that I learnt about recent violence along the Line of Contact and the
border between Azerbaijan and Armenia. I deeply regret the tragic and
unnecessary loss of life. The European Union has repeatedly expressed
readiness to contribute to confidence building measures, where it can
help the work of the OSCE Minsk Group. In this regard, the European
Union is prepared to further promote the engagement of civil society
in confidence-building and contacts between the populations on both
sides. This will help foster trust and allow people affected by the
conflict to fully take part in the debates on perspectives for peace.
In addition, the EU conducts regular political dialogue with both
partner countries, and has also appointed the EU Special Representative
for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, Ambassador Phillipe
Lefort. We also support the OSCE-proposed mechanism to investigate
ceasefire violations and stand ready to share the EU's relevant
experience and good practices in promoting conflict transformation.
Recently the European Parliament has adopted a resolution, expressing
the wish to have unconditional access to Nagorno-Karabakh. What were
the incentives for such steps? Can this be considered as a step in
the direction of de jure recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh ?
No, this does not constitute any form of recognition of
Nagorno-Karabakh. The Council of the European Union, as well as
the European Parliament, have underlined the need for unrestricted
access for EU representatives to Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding
regions. For the EU, this is a principled and pragmatic matter, as
it would help turn into action our readiness to support confidence
building measures now and to provide rehabilitation and reconstruction
assistance once a settlement is achieved.
The Armenian-Turkish border is the last one in Europe. Is it acceptable
to have closed borders in the 21st century in modern Europe, while
Turkey is still trying to impose precondition for the establishment
of Armenian-Turkish diplomatic relations?
The European Union encourages Armenia and Turkey to normalize
their bilateral relations without preconditions (from any side). We
believe that the full normalization of relations between Armenia
and Turkey would be an important contribution to security, stability
and cooperation in the Southern Caucasus. We call on both countries
to continue their dialogue and remain committed to the process. An
important first step would indeed be the opening of the border.
From: A. Papazian