The third session of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly, forum for parliamentary debate for the Eastern Partnership, took place in Brussels on 28 - 29 May 2013. MEPs and MPs from Eastern Partnership countries discussed issues of energy, EU funding, peace and security and Belarus. Much of the debate was consecrated to the upcoming Eastern Partnership Vilnius Summit, which will take place in November 2013. The goals to reach for the Vilnius Summit have been discussed and identified in the... Read more

On 19 April 2013, the Readmission Agreement between Armenia and the European Union, which should facilitate migration control and administrative measures for visa requests, was signed in Brussels. Signing of the document is part of the visa liberalisation process and the ongoing Association Agreement negotiations between the EU and Armenia. One agreement - on visa facilitation - has already been signed on 17 December 2012. The Agreement now needs to be ratified by the European... Read more

On 20 March 2013, the European Commission and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy published the 'Country Report' for Armenia, about progress in the Implementation of the European Neighbourhood Policy for the year 2012 and containing a set of recommendations for the future. This document reports on the progress made in implementation of the EU-Armenia European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) Action Plan between 1 January and 31 December 2012, although... Read more

On 26 February 2013, European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA) held a post-electoral briefing dedicated to the presidential elections in Armenia which took place on 18 February 2013. The briefing focused on first-hand impressions collected around the elections by some of our Europe-Armenia Advisory Council (EAAC) members, as well as on the presentation of the results of two opinion polls commissioned by EuFoA ahead of the elections. During the event, MEP Frank Engel, one of the EAAC members who... Read more

The second meeting of the Europe-Armenia Advisory Council (EEAC) took place in Yerevan, Armenia between 15 and 19 February 2013, a timeframe chosen specifically in view of the presidential elections held in Armenia on 18 February. On 15 February, the EAAC published the "Call for free and fair presidential elections in Armenia" in a press conference. The Council was represented by Mr Frank Engel MEP, Mr François Rochebloine MP and H.E. Mr Hans-Jochen Schmidt, former German ambassador to... Read more

On 15 February 2013 several members of the European-Armenia Advisory Council (EAAC) held a press conference in Yerevan and presented the Council's Call for free and fair presidential elections in Armenia on 18 February 2013. The event was widely covered by Armenian media (see links below).   During the press conference Mr Frank Engel, Member of the European Parliament, Mr Hans-Jochen Schmidt, former Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Armenia, and Mr Francois... Read more

On 9 February 2013 TNS opionion presented the second of the two opinion polls commissioned by EuFoA ahead of the Presidential Elections 2013. The polls were conducted by TNS opinion, the world leader in opinion research and custom/ad hoc research together with their Armenian partner IPSC.   The results of the polls were publicly presented during press conferences on 25 January (EuFoA Press Release: Armenians take elections seriously, despite clear lead of incumbent) and 9 February... Read more

On 16 October 2012, European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA) held a round-table at EuFoA's Brussels office dedicated to the Election Observation Mission (EOM) of the Nagorno-Karabakh Presidential Elections of 19 July 2012. The purpose of the meeting was to share the impressions on the elections and to present the full EOM report drafted by EuFoA. Over 30 representatives from the European institutions (including two MEPs), international organisations, NGOs and media were present at the event. On... Read more

On Thursday 13 September, the European Parliament has adopted an urgency resolution on the Safarov affair, adding its voice to the long list of international organisations and national governements, condemning Azerbaijan for releasing Safarov. There has been over 20 statements published so far - to consult the full list, please click here.   "We strongly welcome the resolution of the European Parliament on the Safarov case. The Parliament clearly sent the right signal to Azerbaijan... Read more

On August 31, Ramil Safarov, a lieutenant in the Azerbaijani military, who had been sentenced to life imprinsonment for killing an Armenian officer during NATO training in Hungary in 2004, was extradited on to Azerbaijan. On his return, he was immediately pardoned by the President, and received a new apartment, eight years of back pay, a promotion to the rank of major and the status of a national hero.   This issue has been - and continues to be - widely covered by international... Read more