Meeting at the NA Standing Committee on European Integration

06/11/2015

On June 11 the Chair of the NA Standing Committee on European Integration Naira Zohrabyan met with the Ambassador of the Netherlands to the RA Hans Horbach and the Director of Europe Department of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs Daphne Bergsma.

The Director of Europe Department of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ambassador were interested in the agenda of Armenia-EU future legal document, presenting also their approaches. The Committee Chair Naira Zohrabyan introduced the complex of issues which will form the RA-EU future legal document. Naira Zohrabyan expressed conviction that the political component of the non-signed Association Agreement with its main components will be included in the new document. Speaking about the economic components Naira Zohrabyan has noted that, certainly, it will not be included with the whole volume, which supposes the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) Agreement, nevertheless, taking into consideration that the half of the goods turnover of Armenia is implemented with the European Union, the new legal document, according to the Committee Chair, will have a wide economic component, without contradicting Armenia’s obligations assumed before the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).

The interlocutors also discussed the problems impeding the development of Armenia’s economy, particularly, relating to the shadow economy and monopolies, which essentially has an impact on the volume of the investments.

In the course of the meeting the sides touched upon the problems of women’s violence and religious communities. The Director of Europe Department of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs Daphne Bergsma and the Ambassador proposed their assistance to the Armenian side in organising courses in general schools on the problems of struggle towards women’s violence and corruption. The sides agreed also to discuss the problem with the RA Minister of Science and Education for including similar courses in general schools.

The parties also discussed issues concerning the constitutional amendments.