ArmInfo. The European Commission positively considers the issue of liberalizing the visa regime with Armenia, EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Expansion Affairs Johannes Hahn said at a press conference in Yerevan today.
At the same time, he stressed that this issue should be discussed with the EU member states, but before the elections of the European Parliament one can hardly expect a significant shift in this plane.
Referring to the elections held in Armenia in December, he stressed that they reflected the will of the people. Speaking about cooperation with the EU, Hahn considered promising areas of agriculture, technology, justice, education, and infrastructure. He recalled that today programs in the amount of 300 million euros are being implemented. It is planned to implement another 100 million euro programs. According to him, 800 million euro investments are planned to be directed to the fields of energy, water resources, agriculture, transport in the form of grants and loans. "A ? 23 million education package was recently signed in the field of education," Hahn said, adding that negotiations are currently under way to form a budget for the next 7 years. He also stressed that the amount of EU subsidies to countries depends on the degree of their preparation for the implementation of programs. According to him, there is a budget line to promote democracy, and this will be an additional source of funding for Armenia. Hahn assured that funding for this line this year will be more. He also stressed that a positive attitude in Armenia is felt in Europe, people are interested in investments. "They even told me that in the past, for the first time in many years, more people came to Armenia than left," Hahn said. Hahn refused to answer the question related to the case of the second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan: "No matter how loud the case, we do not answer such questions so as not to affect the result."