Karen Nazaryan: The process of ratification of CEPA by EU countries  is slightly slow in coming

ArmInfo. In the near future the "Road Map" of actions arising from Armenia-EU the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership (CEPA) will be finalized  and presented to the European partners for evaluation. This was announced by Deputy  Foreign Minister Karen Nazaryan on November 6 during hearings in  parliamentary commissions.

According to the Deputy Minister, Armenia-EU relations have entered a  rather intensive phase. In the near future, this process will require  active, purposeful work and concentration of forces by all the  stakeholders.

Nazaryan stressed that ratification by the Armenian Parliament (of  CEPA) was a key event in relations between Armenia and the EU. Due to  this, from June 1, the provisional application of almost 80% of the  provisions of this document began. The remaining 20% also suggest  visa liberalization, which is currently being postponed for objective  reasons. In particular, the transfer to the Armenian side of the  corresponding roadmap from the EU is delayed, which will be a beacon  on the way to achieving the cherished goal - the liberalization of  the visa regime with the EU.

As of today, as the representative of the Foreign Ministry pointed  out, several EU member states - the Baltic States, Denmark, Bulgaria,  Romania, Luxembourg, Poland and Estonia - have already ratified the  Agreement. Nevertheless, according to Nazaryan, the process is  slightly slow in coming, despite the fact that the republic's  diplomatic missions in their countries of residence are actively  working to stimulate the process. This is due to the fact that in  some countries the process of ratification of such documents requires  its passage not only in the legislature, but also in the executive.   As Nazaryan noted back in July of this year during his visit to  Brussels, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan assured European partners  that the new government has the political will to fully implement its  commitments, which are aimed at democratizing the country,  establishing a civil society, fighting corruption and modernizing the  economy. As the Deputy Minister stressed, the full application of the  CEPA will allow reaching a qualitatively new level of bilateral  relations. "I hope that by mid-2019 we will have a fully ratified  document," he said. The Armenian side also hopes to liberalize the  visa regime with the EU already in 2020.  To note, the Framework  Agreement on a Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership between Armenia  and the EU was signed on November 24 in Brussels. The Armenian  parliament unanimously ratified the agreement in April 2018.