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Panorama.am presents an interview with Mr. Eduardo Lorenzo Ochoa, the President of the European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA) NGO, who has recently organized the visit of the European Parliament Vice President to Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. 

- Mr. Ochoa, you have worked in Armenia for many years as the Senior Adviser to the Prime Minister of Armenia and to the Speaker of the National Assembly as well as a lecturer. Could you briefly share your impressions of Armenia in both personal and professional levels?

- From a professional point of view, those years were a very rich experience. I could actually write a book about it, but I would like to underline that even though Armenia has a limited administrative capacity, both the National Assembly and the Government made an extraordinary effort achieving the highest degree of compatibility with the EU, both politically and institutionally, resulting first in a clear benefit for the country but also for the EU.

From a personal perspective, I would underline the high degree of responsibility entrusted to me, as well as the mutual reliance developed throughout the years, which was key to achieving our goals. Finally, regarding the lectures that I had the responsibility to deliver, to the students in the diplomatic academy at Yerevan State University, and in different NDI leadership schools, I would highlight the enormous interest that all audiences had in the European Union.

- You have recently taken up the position of the President of the European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA) NGO based in Brussels. What priorities and upcoming projects are on the agenda of the NGO?

- Our goal is to keep Armenia up on the EU’s agenda. Taking into consideration that the European Parliament has been renewed and soon the European Commission will also be refreshed, we will have to make substantial efforts in explaining the reality of the Republic of Armenia to the newly elected decision makers if we want to reinforce our network. This will imply a lot of bilateral meetings, conferences, study visits to the region and some short papers on specific areas of the EU-Armenia cooperation.

In one word: pedagogy on Armenia in Brussels.

- The EuFoA recently organized a study trip to Nagorno Karabakh for the European Parliament Vice President Jacek Protasiewicz and the EFA delegation. What can you say about this visit? What were the impressions of the level of social economic and institutional development of the NKR? Why do you think it is important for European officials to visit Nagorno-Karabakh? 

- Starting years ago with the voice of the European citizens, that is the European Parliament, all EU Institutions have officially stressed the importance for EU representatives to establish contacts with the authorities and civil society of Nagorno-Karabakh, so I would frame both visits in that context, in the normality of the EU’s international outreach. 

It is true that it was the first time in history that a Vice President of the European Parliament visited Nagorno Karabakh, and EuFoA is very proud to be part of this milestone, but at the same time, I am confident that with our work such high level visits will become a habit, and not an exception. In regards to the EFA delegation study trip, it is not the first one, I am positive it will not be last one either, and it is just the free expression of two political entities that share the same values in terms of democracy and human rights and are willing to work together.

Both the EFA Delegation and Mr. Protasiewicz were quite impressed with the level of democratic and economic development that Nagorno Karabakh has reached and how, despite all difficulties and the absence of international donors, Nagorno Karabakh has chosen the EU model of development.

- The recent paper published by the EUFoA titled “EU-Armenia relations: future developments and prospects” talks about the need for a new type of Association Agreement between the EU and Armenia (“AA Light” or a “PCA Plus”). If such a document is adopted how would it be different from the existing framework of cooperation and how would it be different from the complete Association Agreement? What are your recommendations in this regard? 

- The largest part of the existing EU-Armenia cooperation is not directly related to trade, therefore it is clear that there is enough room to uphold a high degree of cooperation, provided there is a strong political will to do so.

Regarding the contents of such cooperation, as both sides stated in Vilnius, the main axis should be: improvement of democratic institutions and the judiciary, promotion of human rights and rule of law, good governance, fight against corruption, and strengthening of the civil society.

More specifically, it could cover three of the four sections (all except DCFTA) of the AA that the EU and Armenia concluded in July 2013:
• Common Foreign and Security Policy
• Justice and Home Affairs
• Issues including the environment, science, transportation, and education

In particular, this new AA would therefore be a comprehensive agreement which reflects the existing wide range of cooperation in political and economic areas, and develops these areas further. To reflect the new quality in the EU-Armenia relations, it should go far above and beyond the existing PCA commitments.

It should provide a firmer commitment to an institutionalized dialogue on common values, notably democracy and rule of law, good governance and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including minorities’ rights, a market economy and sustainable development.

It could also enhance cooperation in foreign and security policy, with focus on regional issues, non-proliferation and disarmament. Deepened cooperation in economic areas such as business and investment climate, public finance, macroeconomic stability, and employment as well as social affairs could also be part of the text together with further cooperation in energy matters, paying particular attention to issues concerning security and diversification of supply.

On the other hand, enhanced relations in other sectoral policy areas such as transport, and aviation, environment and public health, science and technology, education and culture and information society as well as media should also be included. People-to-people contacts, inter alia through exchange and cooperation programmes for schools, students (increased number of scholarships) and researchers, should be further strengthened.

In addition, further cooperation in the field of justice, liberty and security that are only partially covered in the PCA together with institutional building could be part of this new AA.

Finally regarding trade, even though the Republic of Armenia is supposed to join the Russian-led customs union, there might still be room for cooperation with the EU on a sector-by-sector basis.

Such sectoral agreements in areas that both parties are interested in can be signed –especially when it comes to providing technical assistance, in the form of e.g., twinning projects – as is the case for the Russian federation. The key challenge remains Armenia’s capacity to meet and keep the EU standards and to fully upgrade quality infrastructure institutions in line with EU standards, and this would certainly be the main topic of discussion while negotiating such sectoral agreements. It appears that Armenia has adopted the closest standards to those of the EU, among all countries set to become part of the EURASIAN Customs Union. Therefore it is foreseeable that Customs Union members’ companies will increase their presence in Armenia. In this regard, it would be mutually beneficial for both the EU and Armenia to develop additional mechanisms of cooperation in this field.

Finally, generally speaking, there is a growing consensus in the EU that the EaP should provide a more tailor made assistance to the EaP countries in the next programming period. In addition, in the particular case of the Republic of Armenia some key EU member states and various authorized voices in the European Parliament support the idea of proposing Armenia an association agreement that takes into consideration its new international commitments.