Fundamental rights reviewed in Armenia–EU dialogue

PanARMENIAN.Net - The second expert mission from the European Union has visited Armenia within the framework of the Armenia-EU visa liberalization dialogue. The delegation was received by Samvel Mkrtchyan, Head of the European Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.

The EU mission included sectoral experts from member states as well as representatives from the European Commission, the European External Action Service, and the EU Delegation to Armenia.

The discussions focused on the protection of fundamental human rights and the significance of international cooperation in this domain.

According to EU representatives, during their visit they held meetings with relevant Armenian state bodies, addressing issues such as crime, confiscation of illicit assets, anti-corruption efforts, and the prevention of financial crimes.

The main purpose of the visit was to conduct a comprehensive assessment of Armenia's preparedness to meet the criteria outlined in the action plan for the visa liberalization dialogue.

Armenian participants at the meeting included representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' departments of Europe, human rights and humanitarian affairs, international treaties and law, consular affairs, as well as officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

On March 26, Armenia’s National Assembly approved in a second and final reading a bill initiating the EU accession process. The government had endorsed the draft on January 9, based on a proposal by the civil initiative Eurovote. However, the EU has not yet extended an official invitation for membership, and opposition parties have called the bill legally absurd. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk also stated that Armenia cannot “sit on two chairs” and will have to choose between the Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union.