Two days ago Hetq published an article regarding the publication of the text of the upcoming EU-Armenia Association Agreement.

Hetq had written to the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs suggesting that it was in the public interest that the text of the agreement be made known before any official signing by Armenia.

The Ministry’s response was that the publication of any international treaty must follow legal procedure, giving the impression that the agreement had been finalized but that the Ministry had no plans o reveal it.

Hetq then wrote to Štefan Füle , European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, with the same request.

In response, we received the following note from Peter Stano, Commissioner Füle’s spokesperson:

“Thank you for your interest. Please note that we did not even publish the text of Association Agreement with Ukraine yet, although that one is in much more advanced stage than the AA with Armenia. When the negotiations on the text are concluded, the text is undergoing legal proofreading in order to clear it for translation, initialling and eventually signature. So in other words there are procedures to follow as your Ministry has explained and we will publish the text at an appropriate time when the necessary procedures are being completed so that we introduce to the public the very final text. This is what we do with every international treaty. Let me assure you that it is in our interest that the citizens know about this Agreement and no one will keep the text secret.”

So, it appears that the two sides are putting the “final touches” on the agreement and that it will indeed be made public before any signing.

Hopefully, it will be made available early enough for citizens of Armenia to read through and comprehend.

Rest assured that such a document will be voluminous and tedious going.