Tuesday, March 7 2017 19:10

ArmInfo. EU granting financial  assistance issues for 2017-2020 were discussed In Yerevan.

According to the EU Delegation in Armenia, which received ArmInfo, a  meeting of recounting commissions on a number of EU budget assistance  programs was held in the Armenian capital on March 6- 7. In  particular, the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments  discussed the second stage of the Action Plan for Armenia within the  framework of the European Neighborhood Policy and the program of  professional development for the best jobs. The programs were  discussed by Deputy Minister Garegin Melkonyan and the head of the  department in the Directorate General of the European Commission for  Expansion and Neighborhood Vasilis Maragos.

During the meeting of the re-verifying commission on programs for  assistance to agriculture and rural development, as well as improving  the policy of managing state finances, the sides discussed the  implementation of agreements, as well as the expected reforms in the  spheres.

The European Union is the number one donor for Armenia. More than 50%  of financial support for various assistance programs in Armenia falls  to the share of the EU. On an annual basis, this amount is about 50  million EUR, and since the independence of Armenia, the EU has  allocated more than 500 million euros for these purposes. These data  were presented at the press conference on October 24, 2016 by the  head of the European delegation in Armenia, Ambassador Piotr  Switalski. According to the ambassador, the bulk of financial  assistance is provided in the form of budgetary assistance, which is  an excellent indicator of Armenia's high rating in terms of financial  management, performance and accountability. Perhaps, as noted  Switalski, there is an opinion in the public that the EU probably  does not have a "feedback" on the productivity of the funds provided.  Meanwhile, according to him, the EU has a very strict methodology for  estimating the amount of grant money. The EU budget assistance  programs are very meticulously studied and, based on the analysis,  conclusions are drawn regarding their productivity, as the EU is  focused on making the process of European assistance to forthcoming  reforms in Armenia more effective, he said.