Prospect of Armenia's EU membership vague, expert says
The prospect of Armenia’s accession to the European Union is utterly vague, claims political analyst Suren Surenyants, the leader of the Democratic Alternative Party.
In an interview to Panorama.am on Monday, he spoke to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s statements on closer ties with the EU, including on a referendum to apply for EU membership.
"I cannot say how ready the EU is to be closer to Armenia,” the premier said, addressing the Armenian Forum for Democracy.
"This is a consequence of the total government crisis and the chaotic policy pursued by Armenia’s authorities,” Surenyants said, accusing Pashinyan’s government of poor foreign policy agenda.
"No one is waiting for Armenia in Brussels. Moreover, the trends there suggest that the prospect of Armenia's European integration and EU membership is utterly vague,” the expert stated.
On an official visit to Latvia last week, National Assembly Alen Simonyan suggested that Armenia might soon hold a referendum on pursuing EU membership.
Earlier on 21 June, the Armenian parliament held hearings on a possible referendum on Armenia applying for EU membership initiated by four pro-Western political parties.
Surenyants stated that Pashinyan greenlighted the hearings on Armenia’s EU accession.
Asked whether the crushing defeat of Emmanuel Macron's alliance in the first round of parliamentary elections in France could have triggered such a statement by Pashinyan, the expert said: "Even if there was not such an election outcome, it was made clear from Brussels how far Armenia can go. But the elections will play a decisive role because we don't know yet what the EU will be like and neither do they.”