EU official hopes for visa facilitation with Armenia

September 30, 2011 - 11:39 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Since the 2009 Prague Summit, a new, distinct relationship between the EU and our Eastern neighbors have been created, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy said.

“Our partners are at various stages of establishing sustainable democracy, founded on respect for fundamental freedoms and the rule of law. The less advanced this is, the more difficult, but also the more necessary, your work is,” Stefan Fule said at Eastern Partnership Summit in Warsaw.

“Developing a multilateral dimension for the Eastern Partnership is an important achievement. It complements each country's bilateral relations with the European Union. It provides a forum to exchange experience and good practice between EU Member States and our Eastern Partners, and among our Partners,” he said.

“We have initiated Comprehensive Institution Building programs to strengthen the efficiency, transparency and accountability of our Partners' key government institutions. We launched five Flagship Initiatives to deliver tangible benefits for Partner countries' citizens in key areas like: integrated border management, Small and Medium Enterprises, energy efficiency, environment protection and civil protection.”

Mr. Fule also emphasized that visa facilitation and readmission agreements are being implemented with Georgia and “we hope to negotiate similar agreements with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus.”