By Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
During the recent debates on the state project budget of 2015, lawmakers suddenly realized that there was not a word about the EaEU, no calculations of the risks and consequences of joining the EaEU. According to the Deputy Finance Minister Pavel Safaryan, the budget could not legally take the economic impact of EaEU membership into account because the country was not a member of the organization when the budget was being formed. Safaryan stated that specialists of the government were studying all the factors and consequences of joining the Union. The results of their work will probably be presented at the first parliamentary session in December.
Such explanations seem somewhat odd, considering the process of joining the EaEU, including all the discussions and official meetings held throughout the year. The behaviour of the Armenian side shows that the decision to join the EaEU is political.
“Economic motives were not the decisive and determining factor in the choice of the EaEU for Armenia. Such a choice was dictated by the need for a decision, first of all on security problems. The CSTO format allows for the protection of Armenia's borders. Membership of the EaEU will preserve the status quo in the zone of the Karabakh conflict and enforce security in Nagorno-Karabakh,” assumes Agavni Karakhanyan, the director of the Institute of Civil Society and Regional Development.
Alexander Markarov, the director of the Armenian branch of the Institute of CIS Countries, believes that the choice of Armenia was natural due to its geopolitical position. Moreover, the EaEU is formally an economic union, though it is generally seen as a political and economic structure.
Many politicians and experts note the circumstance that cooperation of Armenia with the EU would continue even after becoming a member of the EaEU.
All the opposition parties, except the Heritage Party, want the country to join the EaEU.
“Membership of the EaEU issues from the vital interests of Armenia. ARF Dashnaktsutyun approves joining the structure, taking security issues into account. However, we believe that Armenia should have equal rights as other members in the union,” said Armen Rustamyan, the head of the ARFD faction in the parliament.
According to ANC leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Armenia’s membership in the EaEU is an irreversible fact: “Any convulsions over the reality are late, pointless and harmful now. Is it really hard to understand that Armenia would have disappeared from the map of the world if it sustained at least 10% of Ukraine’s losses? It is strange that even the West is fine with that, while other people continue speaking against the EaEU. A bunch of people does not want to consider the reality, trying to provoke artificial anti-Russian moods in Armenia and unable to understand that there are no grounds for that.”
Concerning the population, the most important indicator of adequate cognition of the reality is the lack of social support for opponents of the EaEU. A little over 30-50 people, including journalists, can be seen at anti-EaEU protests.
Economic and political aspects of Yerevan joining the Eurasian UnionBy Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively for Vestnik KavkazaDuring the recent debates on the state project budget of 2015, lawmakers suddenly realized that there was not a word about the EaEU, no calculations of the risks and consequences of joining the EaEU. According to the Deputy Finance Minister Pavel Safaryan, the budget could not legally take the economic impact of EaEU membership into account because the country was not a member of the organization when the budget was being formed. Safaryan stated that specialists of the government were studying all the factors and consequences of joining the Union. The results of their work will probably be presented at the first parliamentary session in December.Such explanations seem somewhat odd, considering the process of joining the EaEU, including all the discussions and official meetings held throughout the year. The behaviour of the Armenian side shows that the decision to join the EaEU is political.“Economic motives were not the decisive and determining factor in the choice of the EaEU for Armenia. Such a choice was dictated by the need for a decision, first of all on security problems. The CSTO format allows for the protection of Armenia's borders. Membership of the EaEU will preserve the status quo in the zone of the Karabakh conflict and enforce security in Nagorno-Karabakh,” assumes Agavni Karakhanyan, the director of the Institute of Civil Society and Regional Development.Alexander Markarov, the director of the Armenian branch of the Institute of CIS Countries, believes that the choice of Armenia was natural due to its geopolitical position. Moreover, the EaEU is formally an economic union, though it is generally seen as a political and economic structure.Many politicians and experts note the circumstance that cooperation of Armenia with the EU would continue even after becoming a member of the EaEU.All the opposition parties, except the Heritage Party, want the country to join the EaEU.“Membership of the EaEU issues from the vital interests of Armenia. ARF Dashnaktsutyun approves joining the structure, taking security issues into account. However, we believe that Armenia should have equal rights as other members in the union,” said Armen Rustamyan, the head of the ARFD faction in the parliament.According to ANC leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Armenia’s membership in the EaEU is an irreversible fact: “Any convulsions over the reality are late, pointless and harmful now. Is it really hard to understand that Armenia would have disappeared from the map of the world if it sustained at least 10% of Ukraine’s losses? It is strange that even the West is fine with that, while other people continue speaking against the EaEU. A bunch of people does not want to consider the reality, trying to provoke artificial anti-Russian moods in Armenia and unable to understand that there are no grounds for that.”Concerning the population, the most important indicator of adequate cognition of the reality is the lack of social support for opponents of the EaEU. A little over 30-50 people, including journalists, can be seen at anti-EaEU prote
