December 5, 2025, Brussels
The 7th regular meeting of the Armenia-European Union Civil Society Platform took place. The event was opened by the Co-Chairs of the Platform, Dumitru Fornea, Member of the European Economic and Social Committee, and Lusine Hakobyan, President of the “Europe of Law” NGO.
The conference was welcomed by Stefano Palmieri, Head of the External Relations Department of the European Economic and Social Committee.
The Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Vassilis Maragos, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to the Kingdom of Belgium, Head of the Armenian Delegation to the EU, Tigran Balayan, and Isabelle Richard, Deputy Head of Unit for Georgia, South Caucasus and Eastern Affairs, Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Partnership of the European Commission, delivered speeches on the current state of implementation of the CEPA signed between Armenia and the EU.
The speeches were followed by thematic panel discussions. Speaking at the session of the Armenia-EU Civil Society Bilateral Platform, Stefano Palmieri, Chair of the Europe 2020 Steering Committee of the European Economic and Social Committee (ECOSOC), noted that the European Union highly appreciates Armenia’s democratic development and its European aspirations. He noted that the EU is seeking new, reliable partners who share European values. At the same time, relations with Armenia are also important from an economic and logistical perspective.
The first panel discussion, moderated by Lusine Hakobyan, focused on the implementation of Articles 12 and 16 of the Convention on the Rule of Law and Respect for Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The panel discussion was attended by a senior lawyer of the Armenian Lawyers Association, Syuzanna Soghomonyan; a legal expert at the NGO “Protection of Rights without Borders”, Hasmik Harutyunyan; and Marie Delplace, International Relations Officer of the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers of the European Commission.
The second panel discussion of the conference was on the implementation of Chapters 1, 2, and 8 of Part 5 of the Convention on Transport, Energy Cooperation, and Cooperation in the Information Society. The discussion was attended by the First Deputy Minister of High-Tech Industry of the Republic of Armenia, Gevorg Mantashyan; the Head of the Energy Department of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Armenia, Hovhannes Abrahamyan; the President of the “Free Citizen” NGO, Hovsep Khurshudyan; and the Representative of the Department for Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and Information Society of the European Economic and Social Committee, Thomas Katnig.
The third panel discussion of the conference, moderated by Dumitru Fornea, was dedicated to the implementation of CESCR’s Chapter 15 (Employment, Social Policy and Equal Opportunities).
The discussion was addressed by the Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Technology of the Republic of Armenia Artur Martirosyan, the representative of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Armenia Anna Barikyan, the specialist in organizational work and external relations of the Trade Union of Employees of State Institutions and Local Governments of Armenia Arsen Igityan, and the President of the “Business and Education” NGO Marine Zhamkochyan.
A joint declaration was adopted at the end of the conference.
