EU Lauds Armenian Constitutional Reform

The European Union has praised President Serzh Sarkisian’s sweeping constitutional changes that will transform Armenia into a parliamentary republic.

Senior EU representatives mentioned the constitutional reform, denounced by the Armenian opposition, during an annual “human rights dialogue” with Armenian officials held in Brussels this week. The Armenian delegation at the meeting was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Karen Nazarian and the state human rights ombudsman, Arman Tatoyan.

“The European Union and Armenia welcomed the continued progress on human rights in Armenia,” the bloc’s European External Action Service (EEAS) said in a statement issued late on Tuesday.

“The EU concurred with the Venice Commission [of the Council of Europe] that the new Constitution represented a positive development and underlined the importance of its prompt and effective implementation,” it added.

The constitutional amendments enacted in a disputed December 2015 referendum call for Armenia’s transition from a semi-presidential to parliamentary system of government. Most Armenian opposition groups objected to the reform, saying that it is primarily aimed at allowing Sarkisian to extend his decade-long rule.

The president and his allies have denied the opposition claims. They have at the same time made clear that Sarkisian will not retire from the political arena after serving out his final presidential term in April 2018.

The EEAS statement said the Brussels meeting also touched upon the conduct of Armenia’s recent parliamentary elections and the situation with human rights in the country. “The Dialogue highlighted the importance of a free and pluralistic media environment, and political pluralism as a prerequisite for the conduct of democratic elections,” it said.

The EU gave a largely positive assessment of the April 2 elections, while expressing concern over vote buying reported by European monitors. Its foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said through a spokesperson on April 4 that the official vote results, which gave a landslide victory to Sarkisian’s Republican Party of Armenia, reflect “the overall will of the Armenian people.”