One in one out?

            It seemed like what could be worse than one of the EU member states would leave the European Union? It would mean that EU lost its appeal for the countries willing to join the Union. It also seemed like EU would stop its enlargement for many years. In reality no one got scared that people of the United Kingdom have decided - the EU is no good for them. Western Balkans  and Ukraine are still looking in the direction of the EU membership. At the same time, EU does not close the doors in front of them after the outcome of British referendum. 

The mean of political will

          Results of the consultative referendum on the EU-Ukraine accociation agreement taken place in the Netherlands on 6 of April were not positive both for Ukraine and the EU. There are many talks if actually Dutch people were voting against the idea of the EU and its further enlargement instead of the agreement with Ukraine. Despite the lack of support from the Dutch society the government of the Netherlands is willing to consulate further actions with the EU Parliament. At the same time “engines” of the EU mechanism - Germany and France have a strong political will to make the agreement real. And this means much more for the future of the EU-Ukrainian cooperation than the results of the referendum.

Armenia: violations on the Constitutional Reform

       Referendum on the constitution change was held in Armenia on the 6th of December. It concerned the switch from a presidential system of government to a parliamentarian. In that regard the president will be able to stay at the office seven years instead of five. President also will be chosen by the parliament, not by the people. Protests of opposition side occurred on the streets of Yerevan this Friday. “Referendum results do not reflect the free will of Armenian citizens and should not be considered to be legitimate” – state the citizen Observer Initiative and the European Platform for Democratic Elections.

      Meanwhile, the negotiation on the new trade agreement between Armenia and the EU reopened in Brussels. The European Union hopes it will bring the new opportunities for the further investments and trade development with Armenia. However, the participation of Armenia in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) along with Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and the strong Russian influence in the country can be serious obstacles for the future agreement. The Russian-Turkish conflict also brings a new role for the Armenia in the region.