On April 1, 2025, the 6th meeting of the EU-Armenia Civil Society Platform took place at the Confederation of Trade Unions of Armenia.
The meeting was opened by the Co-Chairs of the Platform Lusine Hakobyan and the President of the NGO “European Legal Union” Simo Tiainen from the European Economic and Social Committee.
The welcoming speech was delivered by Dimitris Dimitriadis, Head of the External Relations Section of the European Economic and Social Committee. Mr. Dimitriadis, in particular, welcomed the adoption of the law on the start of the process of Armenia's accession to the European Union, noting that the European Union needs members like Armenia, while emphasizing that Armenia has serious work to do on this path.
The Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia, Ambassador Vasilis Maragos, the Chairman of the European Integration Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Arman Yeghoyan, the Head of the European Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Samvel Mkrtchyan and the Head of the Georgia and South Caucasus Division of the Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood Policy of the European Commission David Cullen delivered speeches in which they assessed the implementation of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed between Armenia and the European Union. Mr. Cullen, in particular, conveyed two important messages to the civil society and the authorities. He called on the authorities to define the priorities within which the European Union should provide assistance to Armenia, and on the civil society to present, in addition to the benefits of EU membership, the obligations that EU membership imposes on Armenia.
Anna Karapetyan, Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, Armen Ghazaryan, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, Suzanna Soghomonyan, representative of the Armenian Lawyers' Association, Hasmik Harutyunyan, representative of the NGO "Protection of Rights Without Borders", and Hovsep Khurshudyan, President of the NGO "Free Citizen", made presentations on the ANC's representation on the issues of the rule of law, the fight against corruption, human rights and security. The presentations were followed by a discussion on the topics raised.
Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ruben Sargsyan, Deputy President of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Armenia Tiruhi Nazaretyan and a lawyer of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Armenia Anna Barikyan made presentations on the topic of social dialogue and labor rights. Deputy Minister of Economy of the Republic of Armenia Lilia Sirakanyan, elected member of the Platform from the Republican Union of Employers Gagik Makaryan, Vice President of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Nerses Karamanukyan, Director General of the Italian Confederation of Craftsmen, Chairman of the Advisory Commission on Industrial Change of the European Economic and Social Committee Francesco Pietro de Lotto made presentations on industrial and entrepreneurial policy, activating the role of SMEs in industry and dialogue with business.
A discussion took place after the presentations.