YEREVAN, JANUARY 29, ARMENPRESS. The European Union will provide Armenia additional financial aid for special achievements in democracy and the rule of law in 2018, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn said during a joint news conference with Armenian foreign minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan in Yerevan.

“We have a special budgetary line that is dedicated to special achievements in the rule of law and democracy. I am announcing that this year there will be additional assistance as en encouragement for last year’s development. The positive mood that has developed in the country is very important. Today, people are more than interested to come to Armenia and make investments. We discussed the opportunity of organizing an investment forum that will familiarize European investors with the existing situation in Armenia,” the EU commissioner said.

FM Mnatsakanyan said they discussed various issues as part of the Armenia-EU cooperation during a tet-a-tet conversation with Hahn.

“We’ve had pretty interesting and comprehensive discussions with the commissioner. The commissioner already had the chance to meet the prime minister, the president, we had a very practical discussion at the presence of deputy PM Mher Grigoryan. During our discussion we once again emphasized the importance that we attach to bilateral relations. The Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement remains the main legal basis of our relations. We discussed a number of projects during the implementation of which we can use the tools given by the deal,” the minister said.

Hahn added that several directions where the EU can assist Armenia are under discussion.

“There is a solid system at the foundation of our entire cooperation. Today, we are at the stage of implementation of 300 million euro worth of projects, with another 100 million worth of projects underway. We are working with the government in order to outline the sectors of future cooperation. We recently signed a package that concerns the development of the educational area. It is a 23 million euro project. We have already had big contribution in education, and we will do it in the future also,” Commissioner Hahn said.

The EU commissioner also congratulated FM Mnatsakanyan and PM Pashinyan on the December 9, 2018 early election of parliament, noting that it was unique in Armenian history.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan