Piotr Switalski: EU considers the possibility of increasing financial  assistance to Armenia

ArmInfo. Armenia has changed over the past 12 months. This opinion was expressed by  head of the EU delegation in Armenia, Piotr Switsalski.

In an interview with  RFE/RL's Armenian service Switsalski, also  spoke about the support of Brussels to the programs of the Armenian  government. According to him, currently in European Commission   between EU member states  the discussions are underway on the  following promising funding, which will also affect the neighboring  countries, including Armenia.  "From the discussions that have  already taken place, I can conclude that the European Commission  intends not only to maintain the current level of financial  obligations, but also to increase it. And I hope that the policy of  the European Commission, these proposals of the European Commission  will be largely supported by the European Parliament and the European  Council, "the EU Ambassador to Armenia said.

Switsalski also touched upon the so-called priority projects, which  the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan presented during his  recent visit to Brussels and related to infrastructure. According to  the ambassador, projects such as continuing the construction of the  North-South corridor to the Iranian border and the construction of  hydropower plants presented by Armenia are expensive and technically  difficult.  This, as Switsalski noted, can be about hundreds of  millions of euros.

<These are very expensive projects, even by the standards of the EU.  But, as I said, we take this very seriously and work with your  government to find the best ways to implement them. As your Prime  Minister said after the talks in Brussels, you should not expect the  EU to provide so many grants that they will cover all costs, but you  need to find opportunities for cheap loans, which will be equal to  grants, and find the optimal financing tool. But we are in a very  constructive mood, " Ambassador Switalski said.

When asked to evaluate the activities of the new Armenian government,  Switsalski answered that he believes that the assessment of the  Armenian people is more important than the assessment of the partners  of the Armenian government. <The voice of the Armenian people is much  more important than ours. But I think that in these 12 months Armenia  has changed, there are undeniable achievements, undeniable successes,  first of all, from our point of view, in the field of the fight  against corruption. We can state the unprecedented political will to  fight corruption. And I think that a new atmosphere has been formed  around this very important topic, which is of priority importance for  the future of Armenia, not only in terms of economy, but also in  terms of political development. So, the achievements here are  obvious, tangible and appreciated. Of course, Armenia should continue  to create an appropriate legal and institutional framework to combat  corruption, but the political will for this is already visible, "the  EU Ambassador said.

According to Switsalski, the last year also showed that "Armenian  citizens became equal before the law".  <There is no impunity, no  groups, individuals who have a special status or are protected from  using legal mechanisms. So, in this sense, I think the citizens of  Armenia are also convinced that the country is now functioning in  accordance with the principles of the rule of law, which are used by  Western societies, including in the societies of the EU countries>,  he said.  Switsalski also noted <very important achievements> in the  separation of politics from business. "There are no special interests  in the economy that would be under special political protection. It  is also very useful for the economic activities of ordinary  citizens,> he said.

<So, achievements are indisputable, and as a partner of Armenia, we  appreciate it. Now we are telling our Armenian friends that they have  to determine how we, as the EU, can help develop the reform agenda,  because one thing is to eliminate the bad, but now Armenia has a big  task - to develop the right model for the future, the right model for  democracy, including constitutional regulations, the right model for  the economy, social security, and so on, "the EU Ambassador Piotr  Switsalski stressed.