Karen Karapetyan discusses EU visa liberalisation process with Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe

During their visit to Strasbourg, Deputy Minister of Justice Karen Karapetyan and Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Arpine Sargsyan had a meeting with Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe Bjørn Berge. Expressing gratitude for the meeting, the Deputy Minister noted that the Council of Europe’s standards for strengthening of human rights protection, rule of law and democratic institutions serve as the cornerstone and absolute milestones for the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia to make policies and develop legal mechanisms. He emphasised that the co-operation between the Council of Europe and the Ministry of Justice is institutional in nature and is carried out through both the programmes being implemented by the Council of Europe in Armenia and the activities being carried out with the Council of Europe’s monitoring bodies and committees. Karen Karapetyan presented the progress in strategic reforms in the judicial and legal sector, the anti-corruption field and the sector of human rights protection in Armenia and the role of the programmes of the Council of Europe in this. The large-scale activities carried out with the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), including the progress in implementing the Recommendations of the Compliance Report of Fourth Evaluation Round on Armenia, the process of developing and approving the Report of Fifth Evaluation Round were specifically touched upon. The parties also discussed the implementation of constitutional reforms in Armenia. The works being carried out with the Venice Commission within the scope of reforms in the judicial and legal sector, the sectors of elections and human rights protection were discussed. The parties also discussed regional security issues. Karen Karapetyan also presented the issues related to guaranteeing protection of the rights of persons forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh, expressed gratitude for the new programme launched by the Council of Europe in this direction, and emphasised the importance of the ongoing support of the Council of Europe The prospects of co-operation between the Council of Europe and Armenia for strengthening the relevant legal and institutional mechanisms arising from the processes of visa liberalisation with the EU, including in the areas of migration, personal data protection and legal equality, were also considered. The importance of co-operation within the scope of the international commitments assumed by Armenia and within the scope of the international legal instruments of the Council of Europe was indicated. Expressing gratitude to the guests for the meeting and the presentation of the sector-specific developments, CoE Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge highly appreciated the level of co-operation between the Council of Europe and Armenia and the outcomes of the joint efforts made in the fields of ongoing reforms. He noted that Armenia is a very important Member State of the Council of Europe and reaffirmed the Council of Europe's willingness to unconditionally support the democratic reforms adopted by the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the aspirations to introduce European values and standards. Summing up the meeting, the parties discussed the upcoming high-level meetings and events, including specifics of the visit of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe scheduled in April.