On 11 December, the EU-Armenia Civil Society Platform held a meeting with the Government and other stakeholders to discuss the 11 advisory opinions that have been produced within the framework of the EU-funded project Monitoring of CEPA Implementation by Civil Society in Armenia. Mr Paruyr Hovhannisyan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, H.E. Vassilis Maragos, EU Ambassador to Armenia, Mr Karen Karapetyan, Deputy Minister of Justice, Mr Rafayel Gevorgyan, Deputy Minister of Economy and Ms Lousineh Hakobyan, Co-Chair of the EU-Armenia Civil Society Platform delivered opening remarks for the event.
Ms Lousineh Hakobyan stated that the present discussion is the second in its kind. She noted that civil society have done considerable work on the advisory opinions in question, and that they will form the basis of the annual report of the Platform. She expressed satisfaction with the level of cooperation between the Platform and the Ministry of Justice in the last two years and noted that some of the advice delivered by the Platform has been heard by the Ministry, in particular in the area of reforming the Ethics and Disciplinary Commission. At the same time, Lousineh Hakobyan also mentioned that there is still a lot to be done in the area of strengthening democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Armenia and that the National Assembly has also a role to play here in addition to the efforts of the executive. In this regard, she stressed the very disappointing recent process of election of the two members of the Corruption Prevention Commission.
Mr Paruyr Hovhannisyan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs noted that the meetings of the EU-Armenia Civil Society Platform and the Government are already a tradition and that the Government aspires for more openness with civil society. He also stressed that the opinions of the Platform are extremely valuable and that the Government stands ready to initiate more events and discussions with civil society. Mr Hovhannisyan also stressed the importance of the recent EU fact-finding mission to Armenia to explore the possibilities of deepening EU-Armenia relations. He indicated that there are no political obstacles to this and that Armenia stands ready to move forward.
Ambassador Maragos said, “The European Union-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) requires commitment from all stakeholders for its implementation, especially civil society organisations (CSO). A proactive involvement of civil society in policymaking and governance reforms is crucial to delivering the political transformation in Armenia and deepening the EU-Armenia cooperation. This process must be as inclusive and participatory as possible. The European Union looks forward to working even more closely with civil society on the full and effective implementation of CEPA as a “roadmap for change” in our mutual interest and to benefit our societies and citizens.”
‘We had 16 clauses relating to key amendment in several directions – judiciary, anti-corruption and human rights, amendments to the electoral legislation, introducing self-regulatory mechanisms for the media, adoption of the new criminal procedure legislation, reduction of the backlog of cases in courts, increasing of the number of judges and their salaries, approximation to the European standards in the area of the protection of personal data,’ stated Mr Karapetyan, Deputy Minister of Justice. He also stressed the importance of the fulfillment by Armenia of its CEPA obligation of the ratification of the Rome Statute.
Mr Rafayel Gevorgyan, Deputy Minister of Economy stressed the importance of private-public partnership and that no state may survive without active civil society. As examples of good cooperation and dialogue, he indicated cooperation in the area of promotion and adoption of legislative changes in the areas of responsibility of the Ministry of Economy.
Following this, the members of the EU-Armenia Civil Society Platform and the invited experts presented the advisory opinions. Included among the speakers were Mr Stepan Grigoryan from the Center for Globalisation and Regional Cooperation, Mr Daniel Ioannisyan from the Union of Informed Citizens, Ms Larissa Minasyan, Independent Expert, Mr Marat Atovmyan from the Armenian Lawyers’ Association, Ms Anna Barikyan, Ms Tiruhi Nazaretyan and Mr Arsen Igityan, Members of the Platform and representatives of the Confederation of the Trade Unions of Armenia, Mr Suren Chibukhchyan, Mr Ashot Safaryan and Mr Karen Mkhitaryan. This was followed by a lively and insightful discussion between civil society and representatives of the Government agencies.
