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Naira Zohrabyan: EU has doubts over transparency of grant management

Politics
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The National Assembly today was discussing how much money was spent on European integration in 2014. The meeting was attended by Republican Gagik Minasyan, who chairs National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs. There were no other Republican MPs present in the discussion. Naira Zohrabyan, Leader of the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), Chairperson of the NA Standing Committee on European Integration, asked Chief Treasurer Atom Janjughazyan about grants and other funds received from the European Union. “Some grant projects have not been implemented. Talking to us, EU representatives express their doubts over the transparency of grant expenditures. They intend to optimize grant expenditures and by tracking revenue and expenditures and reducing the risk of fraud and corruption. I want to understand how the process is controlled as Europeans are not fully satisfied with the transparency of financial flows,” she said. Mr Janjughazyan said all financial flows had been agreed upon. Aram Manukyan, Secretary of the Armenian National Congress (HAK), had three questions to ask the chief treasurer. “When is a debt considered a public debt? How much money do NGOs receive from the EU in a year? Contributions from the EU saw a sharp decline after September 3 when the authorities in Armenia decided to join the Eurasian Economic Union. How will you explain this? Mr Janjughazyan said he did not possess information about the size of grants given to NGOs. “Why did you think that I should have such information? Nor do I possess any information about investments in Armenia.”