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EurasiaNet.org
July 25 2014
Armenia Wants Visa-Free Ties with the EU
July 25, 2014 - 1:04pm, by Giorgi Lomsadze
Armenia may have refused an offer of duty-free ties with the European
Union, but it still hopes for a visa-free relationship.
Yerevan's July-23 request to move toward a visa-free ride for
Armenian visitors to the European Union suggests that, despite its
plans to align with Russia's would-be-rival Eurasian Union, it still
wants to keep a finger in the European pie.
Armenia's planned participation in this second Union has experienced
repeated delays; according to some observers, because of the lack of
consensus among the bloc's members (Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia)
about Yerevan's political and economic requests.
The official line is that this merger still will happen. Nonetheless,
Armenia clearly doesn't want to miss out on all the easier access to
Paris, Rome and beyond that three more EU-enthusiastic members of the
Eastern Partnership Program are having (Moldova) or soon could be
having (Georgia, Ukraine) .
The EU's thoughts about Nalbandian's petition do not appear to have
been released yet. To enhance Yerevan's chances on this front, the
foreign minister also spoke about the possibility for stronger ties
with Brussels and stressed the EU's role in Armenia's democratization
reforms.
The EU links its visa-liberalization policy to democratization, border
and migration-management reforms. So far, according to one
progress-chart, Armenia is doing as well as neighboring Georgia on
migration-management, and roughly the same on passport-security, but
lagging behind on changes related to basic civil rights and combatting
organized crime, terrorism and corruption.
Meanwhile, Russia, per Yerevan's request, has moved to simplify its
own requirements for Armenian visitors. A recent agreement, tied to
the Customs Union plans, allows Armenians who stay in Russia for not
more than 30 days to dispense with registering with the immigration
authorities. Other foreign nationals need to register within seven
days.
Most Armenian observers believe that, at this stage, it's unlikely
that Yerevan can be coaxed away from its plans to join the Eurasian
Economic Union. Nonetheless, the fact that Brussels and Yerevan still
are exploring areas of cooperation after Armenia's 2013 about-face
suggests that this country of chess-champions wants to keep its
options open.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/69211
July 25 2014
Armenia Wants Visa-Free Ties with the EU
July 25, 2014 - 1:04pm, by Giorgi Lomsadze
Armenia may have refused an offer of duty-free ties with the European
Union, but it still hopes for a visa-free relationship.
Yerevan's July-23 request to move toward a visa-free ride for
Armenian visitors to the European Union suggests that, despite its
plans to align with Russia's would-be-rival Eurasian Union, it still
wants to keep a finger in the European pie.
Armenia's planned participation in this second Union has experienced
repeated delays; according to some observers, because of the lack of
consensus among the bloc's members (Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia)
about Yerevan's political and economic requests.
The official line is that this merger still will happen. Nonetheless,
Armenia clearly doesn't want to miss out on all the easier access to
Paris, Rome and beyond that three more EU-enthusiastic members of the
Eastern Partnership Program are having (Moldova) or soon could be
having (Georgia, Ukraine) .
The EU's thoughts about Nalbandian's petition do not appear to have
been released yet. To enhance Yerevan's chances on this front, the
foreign minister also spoke about the possibility for stronger ties
with Brussels and stressed the EU's role in Armenia's democratization
reforms.
The EU links its visa-liberalization policy to democratization, border
and migration-management reforms. So far, according to one
progress-chart, Armenia is doing as well as neighboring Georgia on
migration-management, and roughly the same on passport-security, but
lagging behind on changes related to basic civil rights and combatting
organized crime, terrorism and corruption.
Meanwhile, Russia, per Yerevan's request, has moved to simplify its
own requirements for Armenian visitors. A recent agreement, tied to
the Customs Union plans, allows Armenians who stay in Russia for not
more than 30 days to dispense with registering with the immigration
authorities. Other foreign nationals need to register within seven
days.
Most Armenian observers believe that, at this stage, it's unlikely
that Yerevan can be coaxed away from its plans to join the Eurasian
Economic Union. Nonetheless, the fact that Brussels and Yerevan still
are exploring areas of cooperation after Armenia's 2013 about-face
suggests that this country of chess-champions wants to keep its
options open.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/69211