Author: Jane Topchian

 10:24, 19 May, 2022

YEREVAN, MAY 19, ARMENPRESS. On May 18, the Armenia-EU Partnership Council met for the fourth time in Brussels – for the first time since the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) entered into force on 1 March 2021. The meeting took place in a particularly difficult international context that has created multiple challenges to both the EU and to Armenia in terms of security and economic stability, the Foreign Ministry of Armenia said in a press release.

The Partnership Council reviewed the implementation of CEPA, which covers a wide range of cooperation sectors in political, economic and trade areas, and welcomed the progress achieved. The EU welcomed Armenia’s commitment to CEPA implementation, appreciated positively the reforms undertaken and encouraged the government to pursue its reform agenda to the benefit of Armenian citizens, which the EU fully supports.

The Partnership Council reiterated the shared commitment of Armenia and the EU to human rights, fundamental freedoms, the rule of law and democratic principles. The Partnership Council welcomed the accomplishments to date in the implementation of Armenia’s national strategy for judicial and legal reforms and its national anti-corruption strategy, while acknowledging that challenges remain. The EU is engaged in a constructive policy dialogue with Armenia and provides significant financial and technical support to these reforms efforts. The EU is committed to work with Armenia to make further progress towards freedom of the media and freedom of _expression_, as well as on the fight against discrimination.

In the area of transport, the Partnership Council welcomed the signature of the Common Aviation Area Agreement on 15 November 2021. With this agreement, both sides engage in a process to improve Armenia’s aviation safety that may gradually lead to Armenia’s inclusion in the EU’s aviation market with new air transport opportunities, more direct connections and economic benefits to both sides.

The Partnership Council noted that, following its graduation from the Generalised Scheme of Preferences, Armenia can no longer benefit from the generous access to the EU market offered by the scheme. It however highlighted that while CEPA did not provide for preferential tariffs for trade in goods, it contained important potential for benefitting bilateral trade flows that should be fully exploited.

The Partnership Council agreed that nuclear safety was a priority and took note of Armenia’s progress in this regard and of Armenia’s commitment to fully implement the National Action Plan adopted as a part of the EU supported stress test process. It also reaffirmed the importance of combating climate change under the Paris Agreement and in accordance with the CEPA. To this end, the EU welcomed Armenia’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution targets and encouraged Armenia to adopt a Long-Term Low Emissions Development Strategy, aiming at reaching climate neutrality by 2050, in line with the EU’s commitment.

The Partnership Council welcomed Armenia-EU cooperation in the areas of employment and education, underlining the importance to amend the Labour Code and revise legislation on trade unions and employers to further align the Armenian legal framework with the International Labour Organisation fundamental conventions. The EU encouraged Armenia’s efforts to adopt the new education strategy and reiterated its interest to strengthen cooperation with the Armenian authorities on Education, Training and Youth strategies. The Partnership Council expressed appreciation for the successful cooperation on Erasmus+ and welcomed the association of Armenia to the EU programme Horizon Europe that will allow the continuation of the participation of Armenian researchers and research entities to European Research and Innovation projects.

The Partnership Council took note of Armenia’s willingness to start a visa liberalisation dialogue with the EU. The EU noted the overall good implementation of the Visa Facilitation agreement and of the Readmission agreements and invited Armenia to sustain its efforts.

The Partnership Council agreed on the importance of the Eastern Partnership framework as an essential cooperation platform. It also reiterated that the fundamental issues of democracy, good governance, rule of law, fight against corruption, human rights and gender equality remained the cornerstone of the Eastern Partnership policy framework. The Partnership Council noted that Armenia stood to benefit from the Eastern Partnership’s agenda of recovery, resilience and reform, and from the ambitious Economic and Investment Plan (EIP) with flagship initiatives determined by EU and Armenia, underpinning this agenda that will provide support to stimulate jobs and growth, support connectivity, the green and digital transition, education and development of southern regions.

Ahead of the Partnership Council, the EU issued the Partnership Implementation Report on developments in Armenia and Armenia-EU relations since the previous Partnership Council in December 2020. The report underlines Armenia’s progress in implementing the CEPA and the key role of the EU in supporting it.

The Partnership Council was chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, Mr Ararat Mirzoyan, and the EU delegation was led by the High Representative and Vice President of the European Commission, Mr Josep Borrell. The Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Mr Olivér Várhelyi also participated in the meeting.

 10:51,

YEREVAN, MAY 21, ARMENPRESS. Israel on Friday reported its first suspected case of the monkeypox virus in a man who had recently returned from a trip to Western Europe, The Times of Israel reports.

The patient is in good condition and is being isolated and monitored, The Times of Israel reported citing the Ichilov Hospital of Tel Aviv.

The virus has spread to at least eight European countries.

European and American health authorities have identified a number of monkeypox cases in recent days, mostly in young men. It’s a surprising outbreak of a disease that rarely appears outside Africa, according to AP.

Health officials around the world are keeping watch for more cases because, for the first time, the disease appears to be spreading among people who didn’t travel to Africa. They stress, however, that the risk to the general population is low.

Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms very similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe, according to WHO. 

Animal-to-human (zoonotic) transmission can occur from direct contact with the blood, bodily fluids, or cutaneous or mucosal lesions of infected animals.

Human-to-human transmission can result from close contact with respiratory secretions, skin lesions of an infected person or recently contaminated objects. Transmission via droplet respiratory particles usually requires prolonged face-to-face contact.

The incubation period (interval from infection to onset of symptoms) of monkeypox is usually from 6 to 13 days but can range from 5 to 21 days. Monkeypox is usually a self-limited disease with the symptoms lasting from 2 to 4 weeks. Severe cases occur more commonly among children and are related to the extent of virus exposure, patient health status and nature of complications

 11:05,

YEREVAN, MAY 16, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan arrived in Russia on a working visit on May 16, his office said.

The Prime Minister will participate in the summit of the leaders of the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Moscow.

 17:26, 6 May, 2022

YEREVAN, 6 MAY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 6 May, USD exchange rate up by 9.89 drams to 474.38 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 9.77 drams to 502.08 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.06 drams to 7.08 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 4.16 drams to 586.86 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 1,029.54 drams to 28860.73 drams. Silver price up by 12.06 drams to 349.49 drams. Platinum price stood at 16414.1 drams.

 14:32, 27 April, 2022

YEREVAN, APRIL 27, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government will offer support in choosing profession and employment to young men after completing mandatory military service.

The Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Ruben Sargsyan told ARMENPRESS that conscripts will be offered to head to the unified social services office of their regions after being discharged from service. “The purpose is to prevent unemployment, and also to help them to understand what they themselves want to do,” he said.

Meanwhile, over 100 specialists who will provide the consultations are undergoing training.

The training program is aimed at familiarizing the experts with the tools that will allow to support the discharged conscripts in the process of education and training, employment and competitiveness in the job market. The specialists will work to re-integrate and economically activate the discharged conscripts after need assessment.