The Armenian authorities have explained that the visa liberalisation talks with the European Union are set to enter the next phase in April.
According to the Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia, Paruyr Hovhannisyan, negotiations on the visa-free travel agreement continue, with the next phase planned to take place on April 7-11, when the second EU delegation will visit the country, Schengen.News reports.
In addition to making such a statement, Hovhannisyan stressed that Armenia is well prepared for the visa liberalisation process.
As Armenpress explains, Hovhannisyan said that the authorities are duly prepared and, at the same time, highlighted that the European partners are surprised by the readiness level that Armenia has shown so far.
We’ve prepared rather well for this process. Our partners in various ministries are duly prepared, and even our European partners are pleasantly surprised by the level of our readiness.
While both EU and Armenian authorities are continuing to work together on the matter, Hovhannisyan noted that no timeframes regarding the completion of the visa-free travel agreement can be mentioned at the moment.
Despite such a process taking between three and six years to complete for other countries, Hovhannisyan said that he believes that in the case of Armenia, this process will proceed much quicker.
Visa Liberalisation Progress Was Reviewed Last Month
The progress of the EU-Armenia visa liberalisation process was reviewed last month by the Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia Vassilis Maragos and the Minister of Interior of Armenia, Arpie Sargsyan.
During their meeting, in addition to reviewing the progress that has been made so far, the two officials also outlined the steps that need to be taken before the second expert mission arrives in the country.
Expressing appreciation for the effort made until now, the EU Ambassador noted that the cooperation between the EU and Armenia has been very effective. The same noted that the EU authorities expect to see continued progress and effective implementation of reforms.
Minister Sargsyan also commented on the matter. He said that Armenia is satisfied with the cooperation between the two parties and thanked the EU authorities for providing support.
Visa liberalisation represents a very important agreement for Armenia. Currently, Armenian citizens need to apply for a Schengen visa in order to be permitted entry into the Schengen Area.
The visa liberalisation agreement would give the right to Armenian citizens to travel to the bloc visa-free without having to worry about visa procedures.