Aravot.am had an interview with Vassilis Maragos, Ambassador, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia (note – this interview was taken on 27 May 2024).
-Mr. Ambassador, on March 13, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the Union to consider granting Armenia candidate status. How do you evaluate the possibility of granting Armenia the status of candidate for EU taking into consideration these facts: Armenia didn’t sign association agreement, Armenia is a member of Eurasian Economic Union and Collective security treaty organization and Armenia doesn’t have common border with EU. Don’t you think these facts are the obstacles?
-Armenia and European Union have very strong relationship, very strong partnership. This is based on the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, which was signed in 2017. Then we had the partnership priorities agreed in 2018. In the context of the CEPA, Armenia has obligations, which have to do with approximation of the legislation. This is extremely important factor, which makes our cooperation very concrete and also helps the reforms on the ground. On the basis of these reforms we have advanced the cooperation over the past few years. As you know, the EU is the main reform partner of Armenia. We currently have a good portfolio of more than 350 million of EU grant assistance to Armenia in various sectors. We are now working to deepen this partnership, in particular after the presentation by the Prime Minister of Armenia in the European Parliament, where he talked about deepening and coming closer to each other.
We have advanced the cooperation, have launched the work on the New Partnership agenda and the new resilience and growth plan has been presented. So, all these has brought Armenia much closer to the European Union, and we are now working to deliver this agenda on the ground. All these facts that you mentioned are extremely important and they have to be taken into consideration. When it comes to granting a candidate status, I want to stress that the treaty of the European Union is very clear (what is the procedure, what are the rights, obligations of potential interest to apply for the membership of EU), and it is a sovereign decision of the Armenian people. I think we are not there, we are discussing the new Partnership Agenda, but on the other side it is really a sovereign decision to decide what would be the relationship between a partner country and the EU. Probably you have also seen, there was a resolution of the European Parliament, which talks about the strengthening of the relations. This shows the support, which exists on the side of the various EU institutions to strengthen the relationship.
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-From EU officials we always hear statements that EU is ready to support Armenia for diversification of its economy and policy. Because of the previous decisions, Armenia is dependent on Russia in various fields, Armenia is highly dependent on Russia for energy, according to the reports of Armenia’s Public Services Regulatory Commission, 87.5% of gas imported to Armenia is from Russia, the lion’s share of exports goes to Russia. In this situation how do you imagine the economic and foreign policy diversification of Armenia?
– The EU supports the policy of the government of Armenia. The government of Armenia has a policy of strengthening the competitiveness of the diversification of the economy. In this context, we are partners, we have already provided assistance in the context of the economic and investment plan and various reforms, which will bring to Armenia more competitiveness, I would stress. Diversification is another t term for competitiveness and for strengthening the sovereignty. Hence, we are partners in this context, we are having also programs, which help to develop the quality infrastructure, the infrastructure which will make the private sector more competitive. We are also supporting the private sector. More than 350 million Euros have been invested in the private sector development in the past period in the context of economic and investment plan. In the area of energy (this is also part of this new resilience and growth plan) we are ready, of course to, do more. However, we are already doing a lot in terms of renewables, so that the new opportunities, which are linked with the climate transition, also the use of renewables can be offered to Armenia. There are already investments which take place, when it comes to solar power. But we are in particular supporting the increased connectivity.
The electricity connectivity line through Georgia, which will also allow Armenia to participate in the Black See submarine electricity cable, and make the connection with Europe much closer. All this is essential in order to strengthen Armenia’s resilience, but also new possibilities, which will be offered, when it comes to energy transition, energy diversification. I want to stress also another fact. The EU has been investing in particular in the past period in nuclear safety. More than 60 million EU grants have already been invested in Metsamor nuclear power plant, and we will continue to support these investments in nuclear safety, because of the importance the nuclear power has in Armenia and also in order to address the concerns of the citizens of Armenia, when it comes to nuclear safety. In all these areas we have to see what is the current level of partnership, and also how we can further strengthen this partnership. By the way, when it comes to trade diversification, two weeks ago (N.B. 15-16 May, 2024) we had the visit of Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.
We discussed with the government about trade and economic diversification. There are a lot of opportunities, Mr. Dombrovskis in particular presented the opportunities linked with participation in the EU’s program for the single market and this is something which is going to help Armenian companies that want to export more to EU’s market to apply to the tools and to be able to have more opportunities to export to EU market. The EU markett is ready to receive your products. From the Armenian side we need to work together to make sure that this is something, which is possible on the basis of the various standards that Armenian production is using.
-President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, EU High Representative/Vice-President, Josep Borrell, Secretary of State of the United States of America, Antony Blinken, USAID Administrator Samantha Power, and Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, met on April 5, 2024 in Brussels. Contrary to Armenian society expectations during the meetings in Brussels political issues weren’t discussed. There is a criticism that the amount of support for Armenia is small, it is not proportional to the possible damages that Armenia can receive as a result of the deterioration of economic relations with the Russian Federation. Therefore, can it be assumed that this means that, at least at this moment, EU doesn’t want to deepen political relations with Armenia, limiting to the level of relationship that exists.
-The meeting on the 5th of April in Brussels was very important for the partnership, very important for Armenia. I think it also shows the degree of coordination that we have between EU and the US. We are supporting Armenia’s sovereignty, we are supporting Armenia’s resilience and we are supporting choices that the government of Armenia, people of Armenia are doing. We are not compensating for something else and we are not going to make any calculations, which have to do with the issues that you have mentioned. However, our support is very concrete: it is a support to the resilience of the society in terms of reforms, the reforms are continuing. The EU has always been the key reform partner for Armenia, and we will continue to do so. We are supporting the economic and trade diversification through very concrete investments that target first of all the private sector. Private sector companies receive very concrete assistance from the EU and also we are going to support the reforms which will make Armenian products much more competitive. This will allow Armenia not only to export to EU, but also to export to other competitive markets in the world. It has been very noticeable movement of increase of Armenia’s export to the Emirates, to other countries, which are having needs that can be covered by the Armenian production. So, in this context we are strengthening the resilience of the Armenian economy.
Through this package we are going to strengthen and also to continue supporting the integration and inclusion at the long term livelihood of refugees, displaced persons from Nagorno Karabakh. The EU and its member states have already provided more than 60 million grants for the support. Now we are discussing the continuation of a new budget support program. There is the 2024 programming, but also possibilities to support housing program of the government. This is an additional element of the resilience that we offer Armenia, which we are ready to further continue supporting the efforts of the government, the people and the civil society. We are about to prepare and sign a new program of 9 million Euros, which is going to support integration, employment and also psychological support to the people from Nagorno Karabakh.
We will continue to do so. One other important element of support, which I’d like to bring to the attention of your audience, is also our support to Syunik. Syunik is a region of Armenia, which has been exposed among others also by the presence of important number of refugees from Nagorno Karabakh and, in Team Europe, we have allocated more than 120 million Euros together with our members states and Switzerland, in order to support the socioeconomic development, refugee integration, small infrastructure and also investment in human capital in Syunik. We are going to support the creation of two new COAF centers (The Children of Armenia Foundation), which will provide excellent opportunities in particular to kids from unfavorable social and family environments in order to acquire the skills, which will allow them to be better integrated in job market, and also to participate in social and economic life.
I think these are very important and significant efforts, that the EU is doing and, of course, the key issue here are the reforms that the government is undertaking, the reforms, which will make your country more sovereign, more resilient and we are supporting these kind of reforms. Without the commitment of the people, civil society, private sector and the commitment of the government, I think the assistance of the EU will not be enough to strengthen your institutions, your resilience, your sovereignty. We are here to support the choices that the Armenian people are making.
-Speaking about the EU-Armenia cooperation in security area, the question arises among the majority of Armenian society, what toolkit EU has to help Armenia if Azerbaijan attacks, because there is a belief among the public, that only Russia has toolkit to be that good or bad?
–The EU is supporting all the reforms, which take place in Armenia and also supports the reforms, which can strengthen Armenia’s security. We have very intense dialog in this area and, as you know, we have been exploring the opportunities of further support in particular under the European Peace Facility. We have also deployed upon the request of Armenia a very important and significant civilian monitoring mission, which is monitoring the situation of the border with Azerbaijan, and has helped to reduce the tensions there. We are very much involved in facilitating the peace process. We support all the work and the efforts in negotiations, which are aimed at the peace and normalization in the region. We are very much and clearly against the use of any force. Hence, from that prospective our significant support to the peace and normalization is already present on the ground, and the people of Armenia have in particular appreciated the presence of this EU civilian mission, which has already brought very concrete results.
-You have just now spoke about the further strengthening of the mission. What does it mean? Will it mean that the patrols’ mandate will be enlarged? Please also provide information regarding the implementation of the mission in the problematic areas, such as Nerqin Hand.
–The mission is here to patrol and monitor the border. It has already been enlarged in terms of the staff, the monitors and support staff. The decision has been taken and it’s already in the process of being implemented. The enlargement of the mission in terms of its staff is already present. When it comes to the areas to be monitored and how this will be done, this is done in cooperation with the Armenian authorities. And we are discussing now concretely with the Armenian authorities on how to guarantee the access to all the areas, which are covered by the mandate of this mission.
-Is there any progress in this issue, for example does the mission have access to Nerqin Hand or no?
– We are in close touch with the government of Armenia to ensure that the mission can access all the areas, which are covered by its mandate.
–What kind of support package can Armenia expect from EU? European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi in 2021 during the press conference in Armenia stated that EU is allocating 1.6 billion euros for 5 priority special programs and by mobilizing an additional 1 billion euros from other sources, and EU is able to consolidate 2.6 billion euros for Armenia with this program. From this 2.6 billion euros how much is mobilized for Armenia?
-That was part of the Economic and Investment Plan for the region. I have to say that Armenia is one of the most important beneficiaries of this program. 2.6 billion Euro was the maximum amount of expected investment including by the private sector.. This amount is only indicative and could be higher or lower depending on how various investments on the ground can go. What we have done already so far, and it was announced also by Ursula von der Leyen on April 5, is that we have mobilized more that 550 million Euros. This amount has been mainly allocated to private sector development, to green Yerevan. I’m sure the people of Yerevan, also the visitors of Yerevan have appreciated the new green buses that are available for public transportation in the city, which is very important and has provided comfort to those, who use public transport. Another area, where we have worked in the context of green Yerevan is the renovation and energy efficiency for more than 30 kindergartens. I have visited many of them. I have to say that I have seen happy kids and very happy families in these kindergartens. All these is part of the efforts that we are making together in order to support the investments, which are envisaged by the Armenian authorities. One pending very important investment is the North-South highway, in particular the part between Sisian and Qajaran, which includes 3 lots, one of them is a new tunnel.
This investment is now advancing. We have made very good and important progress in preparation in the past period, and this investment is expected to attract more than 1 billion Euro in terms of the funding. We are in very good track in implementing these projects. But these projects are not going to be the end of our cooperation. In the context of our interaction with the authorities, we have set up an investment platform and are discussing on how we can accelerate these projects. I have already mentioned also the electricity transmission laying through Georgia, other projects, which may be needed in order to strengthen the overall resilience and competitiveness of your country, but mainly in order to strengthen the services, which are also provided to citizens. I had the opportunity to travel to Syunik last week and I have to say that there are a lot of possibilities, opportunities to further strengthen the infrastructure.
I am very confident that we are in a very good track to implement the economic and investment plan. In the context of the resilience and growth plan, we are ready to add further investments, which will help Armenia in its green, digital transition and also the overall strengthening of the infrastructure. Let me also come back to the disastrous flօօd in Lori and in Tavush. This is also an area, which we are very closely discussing with the Armenian authorities on how we can support either the infrastructure or the immediate needs of the population that has been affected by this floods. We are actually discussing on how we can further support of the use of EU Civil Protection Mechanism by Armenia. In this context we are ready to see what further needs may come up.
-And it’s up to Armenia how much support can get from EU and it is also the issues of capacities?
-The issue of capacities is very important for every partner of the European Union and every member state of the EU. We have done good progress in the past period in strengthening the coordination and the interaction. I have already mentioned the investment platform, which has helped to bring clarity on what needs to be done in terms of the various investments. I am very confident that with good coordination, with good cooperation, also with leadership on the side of the government, ministries, ministers, the Prime Minister we can advance our cooperation in the next period.
-I would like also to listen your opinion on what is going on inside Armenia, because there are protests in the streets of Yerevan I would like to ask in the context of democracy whether it is acceptable for you and for EU the actions of Armenian police, violence that the police uses against the citizens in these days?
-Democratic reforms, the democratic credentials of the Armenian institutions, the Armenian government, the Armenian Parliament, all the institutions, the civil society and the commitment of the people is very important. We are proud to be an important partner of Armenia, when it comes to these democratic reforms. I want to stress all the areas, where we have been supporting in the past, in particular, when it comes to justice, police reforms, the creation of patrol police, the EU has provided most and the important number of the cars, which are used by the patrol police. This is a process, which will have to continue and will continue and we’ll continue supporting. All the issues, which have to do with the protests, democratic protests as you say, but also the use of the police, are extremely important for us. This is why we monitor very closely all these developments in Tavush, what is now happening in Yerevan. I think it is extremely important that everybody respects the rules, regulations, and that there is a very clear commitment to democratic developments and democratic processes in the country.
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
