On June 4-7 in the EU states the elections of the highest body of this organization – the European Parliament took place. There is no need to mention the great importance of these elections not only for Europe but for the whole world. In Armenia, however, these elections didn’t cause any interest even among the active civic and political sectors of the country. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that many of the political forces were not even aware that such elections were going to be held. Even though Armenia is not an EU member state it actively participates in various EU programs and actively cooperates with its. At least the political elite of Armenia should have been aware of this significant event. This was at least necessary to the fact that the new elections could have affected the new projects that EU is implementing with Armenia (the new Neighborhood Policy, Eastern partnership, etc), in which Armenia is actively involved. Indeed, according to the viewpoint dominant in European circles the results of the elections wouldn’t drastically change the programs of the EU and therefore the projects launched for Armenia will not be cancelled either. Those will be implemented in the same manner. But this doesn’t justify the political apathy or indifference at all. On the other hand the indifference was the main criterion that characterized the last elections of the European Parliament. During the whole history of the EU legislative body there hasn’t been a lower turnout of voters. This has become a key issue of concern for the European Union. The political sectors of the EU are very worried about this. By an interesting coincidence the same tendency was noticed during the elderly council elections of Yerevan. However, unlike the EU states, in Armenia the main issue that is currently being discussed in Armenia is which of the political forces received most of the votes and why. But here only a few people are concerned about why the society is frustrated with the electoral procedures and the election institution in general.
This supplement has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The content of this supplement is the sole responsibility of “168 Hours” Newspaper and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union