Switalski: The EU does not impose itself on anyone
ArmInfo.If the presence of the European Union in Armenia is more undesirable, we will not impose it. The head of the EU Delegation to Armenia Piotr Switalski stated this at a press conference in Yerevan on June 20, responding to accusations of Armenian authorities that he interferes with Armenia's internal affairs with his criticism.
He recalled that the EU rendered serious financial assistance to the
Armenian side in holding parliamentary elections, giving more than 7
million EUR. "90% of external financing was received from Armenia
from the EU. Let's call things by their proper names, without this
financing, new technologies would not be introduced. It is also not a
secret for anyone that our support for the electoral process in
Armenia was greater than the technical one. I believe that the
financial component is the least of what we did to raise the level of
electoral processes in Armenia," the ambassador said. At the same
time, he added that the EU rendered this assistance at the request of
the Armenian authorities, and never imposed anything on anyone.
"If our presence is more undesirable, we will not impose it. We
believe that what we have done was useful for Armenia. We respect the
sovereign choice of Armenia, nothing against your will, dear friends,
nothing," stressed Switalski.
"I did not come here to participate in public discussions, it is not
my job. But, of course, getting involved in the discussion on
important issues is a positive development. We will always positively
take this debate. But you need to follow certain rules: before you
attack the interlocutor, you need to check the source, watch the
video and think. Respect your companion. At any time I can get
involved in a constructive dialogue with the authorities. I do not
need public statements for the messages to the authorities of
Armenia. Public statements are provided for the society, they concern
what we do in Armenia as the European Union. In addition, not a
single opinion I expressed was kept secret for my interlocutors and
competent representatives of the country's authorities," stressed
Switalski.
To remind, on June 15, during the discussion "Election Processes in
Armenia: lessons learned and next steps" in his speech, the head of
the EU delegation to Armenia Piotr Switalski, summing up the results
of the past parliamentary elections, noted numerous violations
recorded during the elections. He also stated that the authorities of
the country are trying to adjust the EC so that it serves the
political interests of the elite.
This statement caused discontent of a number of representatives of
the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, who called on the Ambassador
to comply with political correctness and not to interfere in the
internal affairs of the republic.