“When we begin to formally implement methods for this road map, it will be a closed path because the Armenia-EU agreement has the following logic: if we want to have a visa-free regime, it means that our standards of living have to be very close to European standards. Otherwise, there will be no purpose for establishing a visa-free regime,” deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan said during a session of the National Assembly European Integration Committee.
If there is a gap in the standards of living, the deputy Prime Minister said that migration will be the result. “I think we all want for our standards to be similar so that there won’t be a big difference between the standards of living.”
The Armenia-EU road map has already been approved by the Prime Minister. The deputy Prime Minister noted that they have discussed the events that have been put into place- approximately 200 of them. Fourteen countries have ratified the Armenia-EU agreement, meaning that 70 percent of countries have ratified it. Now it is time for the legal phase, then in the next phase the health, education, and social sectors will be handled.
My Step deputy Sona Ghazaryan asked how 70 percent of the agreement will be financed.
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Mher Grigoryan answered that it will be financed from several different sources, including the state budget, donors, external loans, and EU finances.
My Step deputy Gayane Abrahamyan asked Grigoryan to discuss the percent distribution in the financial burden.
The deputy prime minister said that there has not been a thorough evaluation of finances yet. Accounting will take place after the second phase of the road map is complete.
Nelly Grigoryan
