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“The implementation of the Armenia-European Union Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement is very important for Armenia. I think that we have a lot to do, we should make sure that the principles of implementation of the agreement are followed,” the Chair of the RA NA Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs Taguhi Tovmasyan noted at the meeting with Michele Dinelli, the Programme manager of the Support to the RA Ministry of Justice in the process of approximation of the legislation stemmed from the RA-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement.

The Committee Chair referred to the bill criminalizing defamation, noting that it does not follow the principles of the agreement.

Taguhi Tovmasyan underlined that her impression is that after the revolution, the Government has rejected the Armenia-European Union Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, therefore welcomed that the EU is actively discussing the implementation of the agreement.

The Committee Chair added that it is necessary not to harmonize the Armenia-European Union Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement with the situation in Armenia, but to try to harmonize the current situation in Armenia with the principles of democracy. We should not try to adapt to the reality in Armenia, but to lead Armenia the way in democratization.

Michele Dinelli thanked the Committee Chair and the experts for receiving him. He noted that the purpose of the Programme the Armenia-European Union Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement is to support the RA Government to implement the approximation of laws. According to the Programme manager, the Government of Armenia has undertaken to implement the requirements of the agreement. Appropriate guidelines and toolkits will be developed to assist in the implementation of the process.

The Programme experts Mushegh Yekmalyan and Amalya Voskanyan also participated in the meeting.

According to Mushegh Yekmalyan, the approximation is the backbone of the agreement, in accordance to which, about 300 RA-EU legislative acts, decrees and order should be approximated by amending the RA relevant legislation. The same principle and toolkit have been applied in other countries too. He stressed that the political opposition should be consistent in implementing the roadmap of the agreement. The expert informed that it is planned to hold trainings for the representatives of the Ministry of Justice, as well as the representatives of the civil society in the near future. The trainings will be organized for the experts of the Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs in the RA National Assembly.

The expert Amalya Voskanyan presented the legal process of approximation and introduced the toolkit.

“The National Assembly has a key role in this process. New laws should be drafted in accordance with the requirements of the agreement. I attach importance to the work with parliament,” Michele Dinelli said.

The Programme experts expressed readiness to assist in the training on approximation of draft laws.