MP Garegin Nushikyan: We need a lot of time to be established in European market
Interview with Member of Parliament, representative of RPA Garegin Nushikyan
-Mr. Nushikyan, what are Armenia’s achievements and failures since independence?
-We started our way in 1990, when we fell in crisis, were deprived of electricity and forced to war. If we take that situation as the starting point, we have done a lot so far. It is difficult to say whether we were able to use that time rationally or no because it could be better, or it could be worse. I wish it could be better. We still have many challenges; the war is not over for us yet. We have issues to resolve with Turkey, too. Maybe what we have achieved so far is the maximum that could be done in such conditions. In the recent years there has been improvement in freedom of speech and democracy, as well as we see the civic society is getting better. Even if there may not be objective or subjective reasons behind this process, the most important achievement is that the civic society has started institutional establishment.
This is an achievement. Perhaps now we have the highest level of freedom of speech in Armenia’s history. Even though we have not reached high levels of democratization, we have significant improvements. In the economy we still have challenges such as unequal conditions for market participants, monopolies, etc. Even though there are improvements, we still need to do a lot.
-It is expected that as a result of joining the Customs Union Armenia will lose many of its economic freedoms. What do you think about this?
-It is very difficult to answer that question. Several days ago I discussed that topic with a German official. Two-three years have passed since we initiated rapprochement with Turkey; the US, EU and Russia were mediators in the Minsk group. However, we did not succeed as the US and EU were not able to help us open the border with Turkey. Do we have guarantees that in the future EU can help us with other issues, too? On the other hand, we have strategic relations with Russia in defense and economy. What is our benefit from worsening our relations with Russia? It is not about economic interests but physical security as well. What is the meaning of economic relations if we are unable to secure physical defense? Integration with the European economic institutions does not mean that they are waiting for us with open arms and will buy our products immediately. We still have a lot to do to make our products consistent with European requirements. It requires a lot of time and investment to be established in the European market. European officials were asked about limitations on wine made in Moldova. They said they would make efforts to increase the quota on wine import. This means that our export will be according to quotas, too, and Europeans are not waiting for our products with open arms. We have huge diaspora in Russia and most money transfers come from Russia. I do not know the details of the agreement. The president and his team know the details of that agreement better, and I believe he is doing his best to make the best decision for Armenia. If this is the decision, it means that was the best option. We will have a chance to discuss it in the parliament. We have had long negotiations with Europe, and I think they did not guarantee conditions for long-term secure cooperation with us. We have traditional relations with Russia. Our people are more pro-Russian, and more than two million Armenians are living in Russia now.
-Defense and security is important for everyone. However, it should be more worrisome that a hundred thousand people are emigrating from the country every year and investment volumes are falling. Isn’t this a bigger threat to Armenia’s security?
-In long-term prospective it certainly undermines the country’s security. This is a very painful issue, and I have said that we should establish an ad hoc to discuss and understand the reasons behind emigration because people do not emigrate due to financial reasons only. There are many different reasons and we should be able to cope with those challenges. The same reasons have reduced the volume of investments in Armenia. This undermines the economy. Due to these reasons taxpayers leave the country, too. This is a very deep and painful issue that we should discuss.
By Gayane Khachatryan
