Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Piotr Switalski held a press conference on the EU-Armenia Cooperation Agreement known as CEPA

YEREVAN—The head of the European Union’s delegation to Armenia—the EU Ambassador—Piotr Switalski held a press conference Monday at the Media Center to highlight the key points of the landmark agreement signed on Friday between the EU and Armenia.

He was quick to clarify that the agreement was not directed at any third party, but rather was a means for Armenia and EU to benefit from its provisions, adding CEPA would also be beneficial to Armenia’s other partners.

“The European Union is not pursuing any selfish goals. By negotiating this agreement we didn’t think of us alone. Therefore, if this agreement is applied well, if it brings the desired changes in terms of governance, institutions, economy, competition, business, trade, energy, transport, people-to-people contacts, we do not intend to monopolize the benefits,” said Switalski.

The ambassador said the agreement is very important for Armenia and the European Union. “It consolidate the basis of relations, enlarges the scope of relations. I hope all Armenian citizens will be able to benefit from this new chapter in relations. The agreement creates new opportunities, opens new doors, but the central thing is to ensure its good implementation,” Mr. Switalsi said. He’s confident the agreement will bring a good future to Armenia and the European Union.

The Head of the EU Delegation said the EU will be providing very concrete financial assistance to implement the agreement. “We are going to increase the development aid to Armenia by 25 percent. If applied well, the agreement will bring real change, real benefit to Armenian citizens,” he noted.

Speaking about the Karabakh issue, Switalski said the European Union’s position was clear. He said: “The EU is totally in favor of a peaceful settlement, in favor of the work of the OSCE mask Group Co-Chairs and is ready to contribute to the process of confidence-building and post-conflict rehabilitation. We believe that the settlement of the conflict is important for the stability of Armenia, the region as a whole and for stability of the European neighborhood.”

Regarding to the agreement’s provisions on Armenia’s Nuclear Power Plant, Switalski said: “The agreement stipulates our readiness to continue cooperation with Armenia in the field of energy. The EU is poised to step up assistance to Armenia to develop green energy, to develop independent sources of energy, to liberalize the energy market and make the prices more affordable to citizens.”

“Concerning nuclear energy, for a number of years the European Union has been supporting Armenia to make power stations safe, to ensure the good functioning of the remaining reactors. The agreement doesn’t contain any elements that would impose anything on Armenia, but it is true that every reactor has expiration date, the EU says we are ready to work with Armenia to find an effective solution, a solution that all Armenian citizens would like,” explained Switalski.