Thursday, April 4 2024 14:08

ArmInfo. As of today, 550 million euros have been allocated from the total amount of financial  assistance to Armenia from the European Union for a total amount of 2.6 billion euros, Chairman of the RA National Assembly Commission on European Integration Arman Yegoyan stated on April 4, during  parliamentary hearings on the topic "New prospects and challenges for European integration of Armenia."

He noted that the funds provided to Armenia both in the form of  grants and loans were allocated by the EU in 2021 as part of the  investment and economic program. Most of the financial resources are  directed to small and medium-sized businesses under the terms of  preferential lending, which became the reason for the rapid use of  the funds provided. Another part of the funds concerns capital  expenditures, which is the reason for some delays in their  implementation. The largest component of the program concerns the  construction of the fourth section of the North-South transport  corridor, in particular, the section of the Sisian-Agarak highway,  which is very difficult from a relief point of view. In this case, we  are talking about the direction of about 1 billion euros.

Egoyan noted that the EU has also increased its geopolitical presence  in the region. After 2022, when Azerbaijan attacked the sovereign  territory of Armenia, a decision was quickly made to send a temporary  EU civilian observation mission to the republic for a period of 2  months, and from January 2023, this mission deployed its posts on a  permanent basis. "It is difficult to underestimate the role of this  mission in the context of ensuring the security of the Armenian  state," Yegoyan said, adding that the EU has 13 civilian missions in  various countries around the world. The mission in Armenia is the  second in terms of the number of participants. Last December, the EU  decided to expand the mission in Armenia, increasing it from 138  people to 209.

The deputy also recalled Yerevan's appeal to the EU with the  intention of using the European Peace Instrument. This issue is  currently at the negotiation stage. The success of these negotiations  will make it possible to attract resources to strengthen the  stability, stability and security of the Armenian state. In addition,  as Yegoyan noted, the Armenia-EU Partnership Council recently decided  to begin work on a new agenda for bilateral relations, while  establishing priority issues of cooperation in all areas. In this  case we are talking about a political document that is under  development. It is expected that work on the new document will be  completed in May-June of this year.

Egoyan could not help but mention the role of the European Parliament  in the adoption of pro-Armenian resolutions. This EU structure, as  the deputy noted, is a flagship in the development and strengthening  of ties with Armenia, directing efforts in promoting this position to  other EU institutions. The speaker recalled only the last two reports  of the European Parliament, which related to political security and  foreign policy.