Armenia expects expansion of security cooperation with EU - Deputy Foreign Minister
YEREVAN, March 24. /ARKA/. The European Union is becoming an increasingly important partner for Armenia in the area of security. This statement was made by Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan during a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on European Integration on Monday.
The draft law to initiate the process of Armenia's membership in the European Union received a positive conclusion from the commission on Monday.
"We are discussing other formats of cooperation, within which active work will be done on security and defense issues. The security sphere is new to our agenda. The EU is discussing strengthening this area, which will open up new prospects for cooperation with Armenia," Hovhannisyan said.
He also recalled the contribution of the EU observer mission in Armenia to ensuring security.
The Deputy Minister further noted that the European Union expects the law "On the Launch of the Process of Armenia's Membership in the European Union" to be adopted in the second reading.
"This is a standard practice. After that, we should expect a response," said Hovhannisyan, who presented the government's positive conclusion on the revised version of the initiative.
Artak Zeynalyan, the authorized representative of the initiative group, spoke about his expectations regarding Armenia's membership in the EU.
"We expect that as soon as Armenia becomes an EU member, it will also become part of the EU's security system. Security includes many components, including the economy, democracy, and other institutions that ensure comprehensive security. We expect that Armenia, as an EU member, will fall under this 'security umbrella,'" Zeynalyan said.
He expressed hope that Armenia's police forces would be aligned with European standards.
The bill will be included in the agenda for the upcoming session of the National Assembly.
On February 12, Armenia's National Assembly approved the bill for the initiation of the country's EU membership process in the first reading. On March 3, the NA Committee on European Integration postponed the discussion of the bill in the second reading for technical reasons.
