Tuesday, 10 May 2011
Prime Minister Meets with EPP Chairman
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan met with Chairman of the European People’s Party Wilfried Martens. The meeting was followed by a briefing the shorthand record of which is provided below.
The shorthand record of the briefing by Republic of Armenia Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and Chairman of the European People’s Party Wilfried Martens
Tigran Sargsyan – We are hosting Chairman of the European People’s Party Wilfried Martens in the Republic of Armenia. You may remember our previous meeting with Mr. Martens in Yerevan as attended the presentation of his book. Also you may be aware that the Republican Party of Armenia is holding membership talks with the European People’s Party. During my recent visit to Brussels, we were able to meet once again and discuss agenda topics.
The first one was the RPA’s application for EPP membership. The second item related to the reforms pursued under the European Neighborhood Program, in particular.
The third and last group of questions bore on the system of values: Armenia’s vision of future values, the set of values embraced by the Republican Party of Armenia, as well as those values advocated in the Republic of Armenia.
Welcome to Armenia, Mr. Martens! I am convinced that our dialog will promote reforms in Armenia.
Wilfried Martens: Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for invitation. It is my second visit paid in the span of a year. I availed myself of the Prime Minister’s kind invitation to continue the dialog on the aforementioned 3 items.
We are very much interested in following on the Neighborhood Program with the countries of South Caucasus in the frame of the EURONEST. Our first parliamentary assembly was completed in Brussels some two weeks ago.
As the European People’s Party, we are very much interested in having valuable partners in other countries. An official delegation from the EPP is coming to Armenia this fall. I hope the mission will issue a favorable opinion, and the RPA’s membership request will be given a favorable consideration.
Secondly, it should be noted that all the government-implemented reforms are certainly very important, including the ones concerning the electoral code, the freedom of speech and associations and the fight against corruption. All this demonstrates the government’s desire to bring to completion the process of reforms.
Here are those basic issues, those elements on the basis of which we can hopefully decide that the program of the Republican Party of Armenia meets the objectives of the core program of the European People’s Party. Indeed, a new criterion is the organization of people’s political parties.
To become an EPP member, it is necessary to accept our basic program, to have a charter and a democracy-based vision of political organization.
The European People’s Party is planning to hold a congress on program harmonization in 2012 considering the new challenges and those positive developments taking place in Armenia, in particular. I do hope that after the RPA becomes an EPP member, it will take a share in the all-European discussions on the system of values.
Radio Liberty – Mr. Martens, the Republican Party is a right-wing conservative party. To what extent can it be compatible with the ideology of the European People’s Party?
Wilfried Martens: The European People’s Party is a European party of Christian Democrat type. We have acted as a right-centered party since the EPP’s expansion in 1990. Our party is a mix of Christian Democrats, conservative and centrist parties which means that we have a right-centered bias. The Republican Party of Armenia is a conservative one and is therefore eligible for EPP membership.
Radio Liberty – Have you had contacts with other Armenian political forces to date?
Wilfried Martens: Yes, I have met with the representatives of four of them, namely the Republican Party, the Prosperous Armenia Party, the Rule-of-Law Party and the Heritage Party.
Radio Liberty – Mr. Prime Minister, I would like to follow up on the issue which was discussed during the Lithuanian President’s recent visit to Armenia, namely that of nuclear safety: what is the outlook of nuclear energy?
Tigran Sargsyan – You may remember me taking up the matter at a past cabinet sitting. Account taken of the Japanese crisis, the Minister of Economy has been charged to join all the stakeholders to review once again our safety regulations and the situation, as a whole. The exercise is complete.
A specialized MAGATE mission is due to arrive in Armenia this May to conduct a two-week-long stress-test in order to reveal the strong and weak sides of the Armenian NPP.
We are ready to host the mission and, in anticipation, we have taken all necessary steps to raise the NPP’s safety level.
Armenian Public TV – Which is the cooperation’s starting point and what is its impact?
Wilfried Martens: Based on the mission’s favorable opinion, we can decide on RPA’s membership. The other 3 candidates will have go through the same procedure. The next step is the membership decision as an associated member-party. If so, the delegates are invited to the political assembly and the congress of the European People’s Party. I shall also invite the President or the Prime Minister of the country to join the plenary summit of the European People’s Party.
The above-stated plenary summit is attended by the heads of State or government. The leader of the opposition may be invited in case we are not a ruling party. As far as Armenia is concerned, I would rather invite the President or the Prime Minister. Let me cite a fresh example: we accepted Moldova’s Liberal Democratic Party in the month of February. Therefore, I am going to invite the Prime Minister to attend the upcoming plenary summit.
ARKA News Agency’s question on Armenia-Turkey relations and Turkey’s EU membership
Wilfried Martens: Following the meetings between Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, I cherished great hopes that we might usher in a new era of improved relationship. Now, I am disappointed that the process was hampered because of Turkey.
Concerning Turkey’s EU membership, I would like to remind you that a most important standard for EU membership is the free movement of people inside the European Union which is not the case with Turkey.
Anyhow, applicant countries are not allowed into the European Union unless they meet the above key criterion. On the other side, Turkey would largely benefit from the normalization of Armenia-Turkey relations in terms of EU membership.
