Switalski: The EU does not impose itself on anyone

ArmInfo.If the presence of the European Union in Armenia is more undesirable, we will not impose it. The head of the EU Delegation to Armenia Piotr Switalski stated this at a press conference in Yerevan on June 20, responding to accusations of Armenian authorities that he interferes with Armenia's internal affairs with his criticism.

He recalled that the EU rendered serious financial assistance to the  Armenian side in holding parliamentary elections, giving more than 7  million EUR. "90% of external financing was received from Armenia  from the EU. Let's call things by their proper names, without this  financing, new technologies would not be introduced. It is also not a  secret for anyone that our support for the electoral process in  Armenia was greater than the technical one. I believe that the  financial component is the least of what we did to raise the level of  electoral processes in Armenia," the ambassador said. At the same  time, he added that the EU rendered this assistance at the request of  the Armenian authorities, and never imposed anything on anyone.

"If our presence is more undesirable, we will not impose it. We  believe that what we have done was useful for Armenia. We respect the  sovereign choice of Armenia, nothing against your will, dear friends,  nothing," stressed Switalski.

"I did not come here to participate in public discussions, it is not  my job. But, of course, getting involved in the discussion on  important issues is a positive development. We will always positively  take this debate.  But you need to follow certain rules: before you  attack the interlocutor, you need to check the source, watch the  video and think. Respect your companion. At any time I can get  involved in a constructive dialogue with the authorities. I do not  need public statements for the messages to the authorities of  Armenia. Public statements are provided for the society, they concern  what we do in Armenia as the European Union. In addition, not a  single opinion I expressed was kept secret for my interlocutors and  competent representatives of the country's authorities," stressed  Switalski.

To remind, on June 15, during the discussion "Election Processes in  Armenia: lessons learned and next steps" in his speech, the head of  the EU delegation to Armenia Piotr Switalski, summing up the results  of the past parliamentary elections, noted numerous violations  recorded during the elections. He also stated that the authorities of  the country are trying to adjust the EC so that it serves the  political interests of the elite. 

This statement caused discontent of a number of representatives of  the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, who called on the Ambassador  to comply with political correctness and not to interfere in the  internal affairs of the republic.