Council took place in Brussels.

 

            The Armenian delegation led by the Foreign Affairs Minister arrived in Brussels to attend the session. The Deputy Foreign Minister Karine Ghazinyan, the Deputy Minister of Justice Nikolay Arustamyan, the Deputy Minister of Economy Mushegh Tumasyan and the Head of the Armenian Mission to the EU Avet Adonc were in the delegation.

 

Zsolt Nemeth, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Hungary presiding over the EU in 2011 and Štefan Füle, theEuropean Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy led the delegation of the high-ranking officials from the various EU institutions.

 

In the course of Council’s session, the agenda of the cooperation between Armenia and the EU, the steps undertaken towards the development of relations, as well as the regional issues were discussed.
 

Presenting the steps undertaken by Armenia towards the European rapprochement, Minister Nalbandian stated that the cooperation between Armenia and the EU is the priority of the Armenian foreign policy and the Armenian side will continue its purposeful policy aimed at the further development of relations.
 

The Armenian Foreign Minister stressed the importance of the activity of the EU Advisers Group that supports reforms in Armenia. Edward Nalbandian described it as a successful example of effective cooperation. 

 

In the course of Council’s session, the participants had a detailed talk and expressed mutual satisfaction with the successful negotiations held in the frameworks of the Eastern Partnership Program. At the same time, they mentioned that the EPP has a considerable potential for the enlargement.
 

The sides also exchanged views on the intensification of political dialogue, negotiation held on July of this year over the signing of the Armenia-EU Association agreement, the Deep and comprehensive agreement on the creation of free trade zone and facilitation of entrance visa regime.
 

The high-ranking European officials highly appreciated the cooperation with Armenia and expressed their support to the democratic and economic reforms in Armenia and the steps undertaken towards that direction.
 

Minister Nalbandian expressed hope the Association agreement will strengthen the legal base of the relationship between Armenia and the European Union, as well as will give a new impetus to the development of bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the spheres of energy, transport, nature protection and ecology.

The sides mutually stressed the importance of facilitation of free movement of citizens of Armenia and the EU. They also underlined that they had already undertaken the necessary steps for launching the negotiations on the facilitation of entrance visa regime.
 

Zsolt Nemeth, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Hungary highly assessed progress registered in the relations between Armenia and the EU and said that the European side intends to intensify its steps for the further boosting of the cooperation with Armenia. 
 

Upon the request of the European side, Edward Nalbandian presented the recent development in the negotiations over the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) settlement process. In this context, Zsolt Nemeth mentioned that the EU backs peaceful process held in the frameworks of the OSCE Minsk Group. In his part, theEuropean Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle underlined that the incidents that increase the tension in the contact line are unacceptable. The high-ranking EU officials noted that the European Union welcomes the five-sided statement on Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) issue made in Astana.
 

Regarding the Armenian-Turkish relations, the European side reaffirmed its position on the ratification and implementation of the Protocols signed in Zurich last year without any preconditions.
 

The Armenian Deputy Ministers of Economy and Justice presented
the reforms implemented in their spheres, the Armenian Government's economic
policy, as well as the reforms implemented in the court and legal sphere.
 

The Council’s session was followed by a tête-a-tête conversation of Edward Nalbandian and Štefan Füle. At the end of the session, the Armenian Foreign Minister and European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy held a joint briefing.
 

On December 7, early in the morning Edward Nalbandian met with his Belgian counterpart Steven Vanackere presiding over the EU.
 

The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Belgium had a detailed discussion on the relations between Armenia and the EU and the steps towards the further development of those relations.
 

The Foreign Ministers underlined the importance of the intensification of political dialogue between two countries, expansion of legal-contractual field, holding of regular consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the two countries, economic cooperation, cultural exchanges and facilitation of entrance visa regime.

The sides agreed on the appropriate steps to maintain progress in above mentioned directions.
 

In the context of discussions over the cultural cooperation, the Belgian Foreign Minister highly appreciated the foundation of Villa Ampen Center of Culture in Brussels by the Poghosyan family and described it as an important investment in the Belgian cultural life.
 

Steven Vanackere presented the ongoing processes held in Belgium - the efforts to defeat the internal political crisis.
 

Upon the request of his Belgian counterpart, Edward Nalbandian informed about the discussions on the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) issue within the frameworks of OSCE Summit held in Astana and five-side statement.
 

The Foreign Ministers exchanged views on the steps undertaken towards the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations.
 

Edward Nalbandian invited Steven Vanackere to visit Armenia for continuing the launched dialogue.