Nikol Pashinyan: We are starting the stage of drawing up and  implementing the most intensive and large- scale programs with the EU

ArmInfo. On December 19,  Armenian Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took part in the  meeting of the Interdepartmental Commission, which coordinates the  implementation of the Comprehensive and Enlarged Partnership between  Armenia and the EU (CEPA) and the Armenia-EU Partnership Priorities  Document.

As the press service of the government reports, in his speech,  Pashinyan, in particular, stated: "The signing of the Comprehensive  and Enlarged Partnership Agreement between Armenia and the EU was an  important step to deepen relations with Europe and implement reforms  in Armenia. The implementation of the agreement itself is reform  platform that meets the government's program.

I know that at the moment the main task of the Commission is to  coordinate the development of the roadmap, and to this end, the  Commission is discussing various areas of activity, including trade,  transport, energy and the environment. I know that the European side  provided a roadmap for implementing the provisions of the Agreement,  which were temporarily implemented, "commented the acting prime  minister, urging him to continue working with the European side to  coordinate actions.

Pashinyan also urged to work more actively on the implementation of  the Agreement, as the implementation stage of the most intensive and  large-scale programs starts. The Acting Prime Minister noted that he,  realizing the importance of cooperation with Europe, will  periodically participate in the work of the commission.

The meeting addressed issues of electronic communication and  identification.

To note, on November 24, 2017, a Comprehensive and Extended  Partnership Agreement was signed between Armenia and the EU, which  entered into force on 1 June 2018, 80% of the agreement's provisions  are in force today. The remaining provisions will come into force  after ratification of the document by the EU member states; to date,  of the 28 countries, 8 have ratified the agreement - Latvia,  Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Luxembourg and  Denmark.

This bilateral agreement includes political, economic and sectoral  cooperation. One of the objectives of the agreement is to strengthen  dialogue in all areas of mutual interest, by developing close  relations between the parties, supporting the strengthening of  democracy and political, economic and institutional stability in the  Republic of Armenia, as well as expanding cooperation in trade. The  main areas are justice, security, economy, agriculture and  infrastructure, environment and climate, consumer protection,  migration issues, information society, social policy, education and  science, culture, healthcare, territorial development, statistics.

On July 2, 2018, by the decision of the Prime Minister, an  interdepartmental commission was created to coordinate the activities  ensuring the implementation of the Agreement on Partnership  Priorities between the Republic of Armenia and the European Union. In  recent months, this commission has discussed various activities in  various fields, including trade, transport, energy, environmental  protection, etc.

The roadmap developed by the RA-EU in connection with CEPA, the  Armenian side and already provided to the European side, consists of  two parts: Firstly, it includes trade-related issues, and secondly,  sectoral cooperation, which covers a number of areas, including  transport, energy, environment, taxation, justice, migration,  agriculture and consumer protection. This map now includes only those  measures that have already entered into force.

On November 27, 2018, the first meeting of the partnership committee  between Armenia and the EU stipulated by the agreement took place.  During the meeting of the Partnership Committee, a draft roadmap  prepared by the Government of the Republic of Armenia was discussed.  The European side was satisfied with the project as a good  starting point for the implementation of the Agreement.