Armenia to be reminded about its promises in Riga
“Ever since Serzh Sargsyan’s astonishing volte-face, the EU and Armenia have been in a process of trying to rework the failed Association Agreement,” thinks Steven Blockmans, Senior research fellow, the head of the 'EU foreign policy' and 'politics and institutions' units of CEPS (Belgium). Blockmans states that at this stage, it is difficult to predict how much of this agreement can be salvaged in order to replace the outdated Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. “For now, the visa liberalization process and Armenia’s signing up to the European Common Aviation Agreement and the European Commission’s ‘Horizon 2020’ research programme are the sole deliverables expected from the Riga Summit on 21-22 May 2015,” notes Steven Blockmans. Asked by “A1+”, on what conditions the EU will sign a new cooperation agreement with Armenia, the European expert noted, “The conditions for signing a new cooperation agreement will be essentially the same as those for the failed Association Agreement: an adherence expressed by Armenia to the values, freedoms and rights espoused by the European Union, as indeed general principles of international law, and a commitment to deepen political and security cooperation with the EU and regional partners in the Eastern Partnership.” The question was addressed to Steven Blockmans through “Region” Research Center.
