The cooperation of Armenia with Europe is extended and is implemented in several directions.
One of the political components of the cooperation is the relations between Armenia and the Council of Europe (CoE), which can be considered as an interim way leading Armenia toward Europe. There are people in Armenia who think that the Armenian-European relations and the relations between Armenia and the CoE are the same. Even sometimes it becomes a topic of discussion. For example, there is a flying word in Armenia already which says that “the Council of Europe is not the Political Bureau for us”. Such things are mainly said when Armenia fails to fulfill any responsibilities against the CoE. Armenia became a full member of the CoE in 2003. By becoming a member of the CoE Armenia took a number of responsibilities to improve democratic freedoms, form the corresponding institutions and infrastructures, settle the Nagorno Karabakh conflict peacefully, etc. It means that Armenia’s policies have been monitored by the CoE since 2003. In this period there have been many legislative and institutional changes in Armenia, some of which have become a topic of discussions in the society (for example, cancellation of the law on execution, alternative military service, et.). Besides that, the Armenian society is very politicized, which is becoming more evident in the periods of elections, when different European institutions are monitoring the electoral procedures and making the findings and results available to the public (for instance, the reports of the OSCE/ODIHR). Such things influence Armenia’s relations with the CoE as well. This connection really exists. Even more it is very important in this phase because since the presidential election 2008 and aftermath events have become a precondition in the relationships between Armenia and the CoE. There were such problems after the presidential election 2003 as well, when the issue of imposing punishments on Armenia by the PACE was discussed. It did not happen due to interim solutions. The relations with the PACE after the presidential election of February 19, 2008, and the events resulted from such elections were more complicated than Armenia’s relations with the CoE in 2003. After the mentioned presidential election 2008 the PACE adopted three resolutions on Armenia (1609, 1620, 1643), which suggested solutions to work out the political crisis in Armenia. As a result of failure to fulfill the requirements of the mentioned resolutions on part of Armenia the PACE recommended to deprive Armenia of the voting right during the PACE session in January. However it did not happen and Armenia was given another chance to correct the situation till the PACE session in April. Thus, the PACE will discuss the issue on Armenia’s fulfillment of the resolution requirements during the PACE Monitoring Commission session to take place in Valencia on March 31. As a result of the mentioned session the Monitoring Commission will give a warranty to the PACE, which will play a key role in defining the future relations of the CoE with Armenia. This is the best example to prove that the CoE has an interim role in the relations between Armenia and Europe.
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