Armenia approves bill to launch EU accession process News
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Armenia approves bill to launch EU accession process

The Republic of Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated on Thursday at the regular cabinet meeting that the government approved the bill to launch the European Union accession process, showing a positive stance on joining the EU. The Cabinet also proposed some amendments to keep the bill in line with the law on normative legal acts. The bill will be debated in parliament afterward.

Pashinyan stressed that the de jure position of the government is not to objecting the passage of the bill. He said, “The idea is that after the adoption of this law, we should discuss with the European Union the roadmap that they imagine and that we imagine and develop a roadmap together.” Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan emphasized the increasingly strengthening cooperation between Armenia and the EU in economic and security sectors. Mirzoyan pointed out that Armenia has commenced the dialogue on visa liberalization and is preparing to sign a new comprehensive partnership agenda with the EU in the coming months.

Concerning the relationship with Russia, Mirzoyan noted that the government is not currently discussing any changes to the agreement on Russia’s deployment of its military base. Overchuk emphasized that the accession of the EU is a sovereign choice of Armenia and that Russia “will establish its economic policy in respect of Armenia with consideration of this circumstance.”

Miriam Lexmann, a member of the European Parliament, welcomed the bill’s approval, and wrote on X that “those who fulfill the necessary conditions and share our values must always be welcomed.”

The bill’s adoption does not signify that Armenia will automatically join the EU and might be subject to a referendum. Pashinyan stressed that “Armenia can become a member of the EU only when a referendum will be called and the required number of votes in favor envisaged by the Constitution will be garnered,”. Moreover, as a former member of the Soviet Union, Armenia still faces several challenges in joining the EU.

In 2023, Pashinyan delivered a speech in the European Parliament, presenting that Armenia “is ready to be as close to the European Union as the European Union deems it possible.” After that, the EU initiated an Armenia-United States-European Union trilateral meeting in April 2024. A civil initiative was then created through a petition organized by the Republic Party, the For the Republic Party, and the European Party of Armenia per the Constitution of Armenia to launch the process.

This legislative initiative was submitted to the Central Electoral Commission of Armenia in November 2024 for signature verification. The commission confirmed the validity of signatures in December and submitted it to the parliament for further consideration, as the number of signatures satisfied the minimal requirement set by the law for any petition seeking to be considered by the parliament.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that Armenia’s accession to the EU is not compatible with its membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), as the two organizations have distinctive standards on the customs space, free traffic zone for goods and services. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk told state-run news outlet TASS that it is increasingly evident that Armenia’s “membership in the EAEU is a privilege and considering economic and social problems the European Union faces, entry into the EU can be compared with buying a ticket to the Titanic.”

THIS DAY @ LAW

Standard Oil incorporated

On January 10, 1870, John Davison Rockefeller incorporated Standard Oil. Rockefeller's corporation would grow to achieve a virtual monopoly over oil production in the United States. Standard Oil's dominance lasted until the corporation was split into 34 separate companies in 1911 after the Supreme Court found the company in violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. The rise of Standard Oil made Rockefeller America's first billionaire and eventually the richest man in the world. Read the text of Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey vs. United States, 221 U.S. 1 (1910).