ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT VICE-SPEAKER: THE ONLY WAY FOR STABLE DEVELOPMENT IS EUROPEAN
ARKA News Agency
Aug 3 2005
YEREVAN, August 2. /ARKA/. The only way Armenia has for stable
development is European way, Armenian National Assembly Vice-Speaker
Tigran Torosyan said at Constitutional Guarantees of Stable Development
round-table discussion held Tuesday in Yerevan. In his words,
the republic’s geopolitical position and current challenges don’t
allow it to fall into soviet-era-like isolation. In his opinion,
Armenia Eurointegration process went on at a sluggish pace in
2004-2005. Torosyan sees the current constitution as the main obstacle
for that. He thinks although Armenia finds itself behind Poland, Czech
Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Baltic countries having reach
experience of democracy gained in pre-soviet epoch, the republic was
capable not to stay behind Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia. Torosyan
says that today, when a group of countries joined the European Union
and another group of countries became the EU aspirants, Armenia
found itself outside this row and the main obstacle is the current
constitution. Level of economic freedom in Armenia exceeds that in
some EU member countries. The Vice-Speaker noted that Armenia is
the only country, where gap between economic freedom and democracy
is so wide. In his explanation, the present constitution is not
hobbling economy, but barring democracy from developing. That’s why
constitutional reforms are so needed, Torosyn said. M.V. -0—
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress