Armenian Parliamentary Committee Delays EU Accession Bill Debate

The Armenian Parliament's Standing Committee on European Integration has decided to postpone the second reading of the draft law on starting the country's EU accession process, announced committee head Arman Yeghoyan.

"The discussion of the bill was postponed due to technical reasons. We have no political disagreements on this matter," he said, meaning that the bill will not be discussed during the parliamentary session starting on Tuesday, The Caspian Post reports reports, citing TASS.

On February 12, the Armenian parliament passed a draft law in the first reading to initiate the process of the republic's accession to the European Union.

Earlier, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan clarified that this would not mean the immediate start of Yerevan's accession process, as the issue requires a referendum. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan explained that the draft law was a public initiative that had gathered the required number of signatures.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk stated that Moscow views the discussion of the draft law as the beginning of Armenia's withdrawal from the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). According to him, joining the EU is incompatible with the country's membership in the EAEU.