11th Armenia-EU Subcommittee Meeting on Justice, Freedom and Security takes place

Today, the 11^th Armenia-EU Subcommittee Meeting on Justice, Freedom and Security took place remotely under the co-ordination of First Deputy Minister of Justice Kristinne Grigoryan.

Head of the European External Action Service Eastern Partnership Bilateral Relations Division Richard Tibbels, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia, Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin, Head of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Eastern Partnership Unit of the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement of the European Commission Vassilis Maragos, other representatives of the Commission and delegation of the European Union participated in the meeting on the European Union's side, and Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Tatevik Stepanyan, Deputy Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia Srbuhi Galyan, Head of the Migration Service of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Armen Ghazaryan, Director of the "Centre for Legislation Development and Legal Research" Foundation of the Ministry of Justice Tigran Dadunts, Head of the Personal Data Protection Agency Gevorg Hayrapetyan, Member of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption Lilit Aleksanyan, and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Central Bank, the National Security Service, the Investigative Committee and the Police — on the Armenian side.

In her opening speech, Deputy Minister Grigoryan, before moving on to the discussion of the agenda issues of the meeting, touched upon the condemnable actions of the Azerbaijani military units having penetrated the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, as a result whereof one military servant has been killed and six military servants have been kidnapped.

Moving on to the agenda, Kristinne Grigoryan highlighted that within the scope of the Armenia -European Union co-operation, Armenia is loyal to its commitment for the development of democratic institutions, human rights protection and enhancement of the rule of law. The Deputy Minister noted that, despite the challenges of the previous year, the Government actively continues the implementation of the reforms
pre-determined in 2019 in the judicial, anti-corruption, law-enforcement and human rights protection areas. As an impetus for co-operation, Kristinne Grigoryan also highlighted the full entry into force of the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement and, conditioned thereby, the opportunities for further enhancement of co-operation.

EU Ambassador in Armenia Andrea Wiktorin highly appreciated the level of
EU-Armenia co-operation and expressed her hope that the implementation of the reform agenda will continue following the early parliamentary elections. Ambassador Wiktorin highly appreciated especially the role of the Ministry of Justice in the strict advancement of the agenda and expressed readiness for further support.

Subsequently, Director of the Foundation Tigran Dadunts presented to the partners the agenda of the implemented judicial reforms, including the steps being implemented for the introduction of e-justice.

Head of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Eastern Partnership Unit of the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement of the European Commission Vassilis Maragos highlighted that the high level of co-operation formed with the Ministry of Justice gives an opportunity not only to implement the programme for the
pre-determined reforms but also to conduct a permanent monitoring of its effectiveness and to develop it.

In her turn, Deputy Prosecutor General of the Republic of Armenia Srbuhi Galyan mentioned that, during 2019-2020, the anti-corruption fight in Armenia entered a qualitatively new phase. In particular, the Deputy Prosecutor General touched upon the establishment of the structural sub-division for Confiscation of Property of Illicit Origin within the system of the Prosecutor General's Office, the process for appointment of prosecutors and the summary results of activities of the sub-division. In the context of effectiveness of activities of the Department, Srbuhi Galyan highlighted the importance of international co-operation.

Further, the meeting touched upon the activities of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption, the Personal Data Protection Agency, as well as the Police reforms, the fight against trafficking in human beings, the fight against cyber-crime, and the implementation of the agreements on facilitation of visas and readmission, etc.