Parliament ratifies agreement on Armenia’s accession to Eurasian economic union

YEREVAN, December 4. / ARKA /. By a vote of 103 to 7 and one abstention the National Assembly of Armenia has ratified today the agreement that makes the country a member of the Eurasian Economic Union. The other members of the Russia-led trade bloc are Kazakhstan and Belarus. 

The agreement was endorsed by 5 of the six factions in the Armenian parliament. The only party that voted against was Zharangutyun (Heritage) of former foreign minister Raffi Hovhanisyan. The agreement comes into force on January 1, 2015.

According to Deputy Finance Minister Suren Karayan, the agreement comprises the basic principles and legal norms of the union, its powers and the procedure for adoption and implementation of decisions. The treaty also contains provisions about budgetary and financial issues.

‘The purpose of the Eurasian Economic Union is to create conditions for sustainable development of the member countries, formation of a common labor market and multilateral cooperation,” he said.

"Given that Armenia shares no common border with the union’s member countries the treaty stipulates a special procedure for transportation of Armenian cargo through the territory of third countries and also provisions that will eliminate all possible obstacles for Armenian businessmen,” said Karayan.

According to him, this will help exports of Armenian products to EEU member countries, reduce customs costs and contribute to the growth of Armenian economy. -0--