WT/REG 405/M/1  
 
8 October  2020 
(20-6923) Page: 1/4 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  
Ninety -seven th Session    
 
 
COMPREHENSIVE AND ENHANCED PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE 
EUROPEAN  UNION AND  THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA (SERVICES)  
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF  22 SEPTEMBER  2020 
Chairm an: Ambassador H.E. Mr. Mārtiņš KREITUS (Latvia ) 
1.1.  The 9 7th Session of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (hereinafter  "CRTA " or the 
"Committee ") was convened in Airgram WTO/AIR/RTA/ 22/Rev.1  dated 8 September  2020. 
1.2.  Under Agenda Item C.I of the Session, the CRTA considered the  Comprehensive and Enhanced 
Partnership Agreement  between the European Union and the Republic of Armenia  (services ), 
(hereinafter  "the Agreement").  The Chairman  stated that the F actual Presentation  had been 
prepared by the Secretariat on its own responsibility in full consul tation with the Parties, in 
accordance with paragraph 7(b) of the Transparency Mechanism for Regional Trade Agreements 
(document WT/L/671).  
1.3.  The Chairman  indicated that the Agreement  had entered provisionally into force on 
1 June 2018. It had been  notified to the WTO by the Parties on 23 August 2019 under Article  V:7(a) 
of the GATS - document  S/C/N/959. The Parties had indicated that the trade part of the Agreement 
provide d for the liberalization of trade in services within the meaning of Article V of the GATS. The y 
had also noted that the Agreement did not include tariff liberalization or mandatory technical 
regulatory alignment in the area of goods.  The text of the Agreeme nt was available, together with 
its Annexes, on the Parties' official websites.  A Revision of the Factual Presentation (document  
WT/REG405/1/Rev.1) had been  circulated on 17 September 2020. The q uestions and replies on th e 
Agreement (document WT/REG405/2 d ated 14 August 2020) ha d also been distributed.  
1.4.  The representative of Armenia1 express ed his  Government 's sincere  gratitude  and appreciation 
to the WTO Secretariat and the CRTA for the preparation of the Factual Presentation of the 
Comprehensive and Enhan ced Partnership Agreement between the Republic of Armenia and the 
European Union  (CEPA) . He also thank ed the EU for close cooperation in the preparation process of  
the Factual Presentation.  
1.5.  He noted that the development of the partnership with the European Union  had been  one of 
the most important directions of the foreign policy of the Republic of Armenia.  Since its 
independence, cooperation with the EU ha d greatly contributed to carrying out reforms in the fields 
of economy, justice and public admi nistration.  Armenia and the EU had very close links in various 
sectors of the economy. It was worth mentioning that the EU continue d to remain one of the main 
trading partners of Armenia . The EU was the second destination  for Armenian exports and imports.  
The s igning and implementation of the Agreement  had conveyed a new impulse to bilateral 
cooperation, and a number of improvements along with structural and economic reforms ha d taken 
place. It had  brought  cooperation between the EU and Armenia to a new clo ser level.  
1.6.  EU-Armenia relations in trade, economic, investment and other key areas  were regulated by 
the Agreement . Its trade part aim ed to foster sustainable growth, improve investment and business 
environment and promote trade of goods and services between the Parties. The Agreement had 
been signed on 24 November 2017 in the framework of the 6th Eastern Partnership Summit in 
 
1 Statement made via Interprefy by Mr. Varos Simonyan , Deputy Minister of Econom y.  WT/REG405/M/1  
 
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  Brussels. It had been  ratified by Armenia on 11 April 2018 and had entered into provisional 
application on 1 June 2018  including , in particular, T itle VI on "Trade and trade -related matters ". 
1.7.  At the present time, Armenia focused  its efforts on ensuring the effective i mplementation of 
the Trade Title of the Agreement, which include d trade and trade related issues, such as Trade in 
Goods, Customs, Technical Barriers to Trade, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Matters, Trade  in Services, 
Intellectual Property, Public Procurement , Trade and Sustainable Development, Competition, 
State -Owned Enterprises, Transparency  and Dispute Settlement.  The Agreement provide d a better 
regulatory environment that  would improve the business climate and investment opportunities for 
Armenian and EU companies, encouraging Armenian companies to sell more goods and services to 
the EU and the EU companies to open subsidiaries in Armenia. With regard to the services part, the 
Agreement fores aw the liberalisation of bilateral trade in many services sectors , which mean t that 
Armenian companies  would be able to provide services in the EU and vice versa.   
1.8.  He informed the Committee that  two meetings of the Agreement's  Partnership Committee in 
Trade configuration had taken place during the last t wo years. The n ext meeting  would take place 
in October 2020.  In July 2018 , the Interagency Commission, tasked with the coordination of the 
Agreement  and Partnership Priorities ' implementation , had been established by the Decree of the 
Prime Minister of Arm enia. Meanwhile, in June 2019, the Implementation Roadmap of the 
cooperation part of the Agreement  had been  approved by the Decree of the Prime Minister of 
Armenia. It was Armenia's  hope that the effective implementation of the Agreement  would 
significantl y increase the potential for Armenia's  economic cooperation and  would guarantee further 
development and expansion of its economic and trade cooperation within the multilateral trading 
system.  
1.9.  Referring to  the Factual Presentation , he provided additional information and informed the 
Committee that the Agreement on Trade in Services and Investment between the Republic of 
Armenia, of the one part, and the Republic of Singapore, of the other part , had been  signed on 
1 October 2019. The Agr eement  had been  ratified by both parties , but it was  not yet in force.  
1.10.   Thanking the Committee for its attention, he stated that the Republic of Armenia look ed 
forward to conducting a fruitful discussion.  
1.11.   The representative of the European Union  welcomed  the CRTA 's consideration of the 
Agreement  between the EU and the Republic of Armenia.2 The EU was particularly grateful to the 
Secretariat for the preparation of the Factual Presentation and to the Republic of Armenia for their 
cooperation in this exercise. She thank ed China and Turkey for their questions and the interest 
shown in the consideration of the Agreement.  
1.12.   Recalling the broader context within which to situate the Agreement , she noted that since the 
entry into force of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement in 1999, the EU and the Republic of 
Armenia had enjoy ed a close partnership. This par tnership had been  further strengthened with the 
inclusion of the Republic of Armenia in the European Neighbourhood Policy in 2004 and in the Eastern 
Partnership in 2009 and it had culminated in the signature of the Agreement  on 24 November 2017. 
The Agreem ent was meant to bring cooperation between the EU and the Republic of Armenia to a 
higher and broader level. It contain ed a political part, a cooperation part and a trade part, 
complemented by institutional provisions. The Armenian Parliament had ratified the Agreement on 
11 April 2018 and the European Parliament had given  its consent on 4 July 2018.  
1.13.   The Agreement  had not yet been ratified by all EU Member States and  had therefore not yet 
entered into force  fully, but in accordance with its Article 385, so me parts already applied on a 
provisional basis between the Republic of Armenia and the European Union since 1 June 2018. This 
include d in particular the Trade Title - Title VI  - of the Agreement.  The trade title cover ed trade in 
goods and trade -related is sues, such as customs and trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade, 
sanitary and phytosanitary measures, public procurement, intellectual property rights, competition 
rules, trade and sustainable development, and services and investment. Given the o bligations arising 
from the Republic of Armenia 's membership of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the trade in 
goods chapter did not include tariff liberalization.  
 
2 The statement was accompanied by a Power Point presentation.  WT/REG 405/M/1 
 
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  1.14.   The EU  was Armenia's second largest trading partner after Russia, accounting for around 
20.3% of Armenia's total external trade in 2019. Total bilateral trade between the EU and Armenia  
had been increasing over the last 10 years, reaching almost EUR 1.2 billion in 2019. After Russia, 
the EU was the second destination for Armenia's exports and t he second  source of its imports in 
2019.  
1.15.   The Parties  were currently focussing on ensuring the effective implementation of the trade 
title of the Agreement so that consumers and businesses could  fully reap the benefits of the 
agreement. The EU and Armenia  would hold their Third Partnership Committee meeting in trade 
configuration in October.   
1.16.   She highlight ed the chapter on services and investment, which  was the most relevant chapter 
for the purpo se of the notification of CEPA by the European Union and the Republic of Armenia to 
the CRTA. There  was potential for increased services trade between the EU and Armenia. In 2018, 
services imports from Armenia into the EU had exceeded EU exports that had remained stable. The 
ambitious services chapter  would help in using this potential.  The m ain improvements compared to 
the GATS  were full commitments by both Parties in computer services, postal, and 
telecommunication services, and construction and related e ngineering services. Further, i n many 
other services sectors where no full commitments had been  made, EU commitments ha d been 
extended compared to the GATS, such as for transport services.   
1.17.   She conclude d by stating that the EU l ooked  forward to a fruitful discussion at the Committee  
and her delegation  would endeavour to answer all Members' questions.  
1.18.   The representative of China  thanked the EU and Armenia for having provided detailed 
responses to China's  questions  that Beijing had studied carefully. China  appreciated the 
transparency that both Parties had shared on this Agreement.  She congratulated both Parties for 
the successful review of th e Agreement.  
1.19.   The representative of the United Kingdom  thanked the European Union and Armenia for the 
interesting and informative presentation on the trade provisions of the EU -Armenia CEPA . She 
recalled that the UK had been  a strong supporter of the negotiations when it was an EU Member 
State and indeed it continued to w elcome it still. T he EU-Armenia Agreement  would continue to apply 
to the UK until the conclusion of the transition period between the UK and the EU. The UK  was 
working with its partners and Armenia to seek continuity of the EU -Armenia Agreement  for the UK,  
transitioning the Agreement  into a new bilateral agreement between Armenia and the UK , in order 
to ensure continuity.  
1.20.   The representative of the United States  thanked the Parties and the Secretariat for the 
transparency on the Agreement. She n oted that bo th Parties had non -notified agreements that were 
in force and urged the Parties to notify them  promptly . They include d specifically the EU–Kosovo,  
goods that had entered into force on 1 April 2016, Armenia -Belarus,  goods which had entered into 
force on 28 July 2003 and finally  Armenia –Tajikistan which had entered into force on 20 July 1994. 
1.21.   The representative of Turkey  thanked the Secretariat for the Factual Presentation and the 
European Union and Armenia  for the informative presentation. She also thanked the EU for the 
responses  provided to Turkey's  questions.  
1.22.   The representative of the European Union  thanked all Members for the general comments and 
positive remarks  made . 
1.23.   The representative of Armenia  thanked colleagues  for the ir questions  and interventio ns. On 
behalf of his delegation he stated that Armenia would like to ensure  that all the commitments in this 
Agreement would be implemented.  
1.24.   The Chairman  noted that the consideration of Services Aspects of the Comprehensive and 
Enhanced Partnership A greement between the European Union and Armenia  had allowed the 
Committee  to clarify a number of questions and the Committee thus conclude d oral discussion of 
the RTA in accordance with paragraph 11 of the Transparency Mechanism . If any delegation wished 
to ask follow up questions they were invited to forward submissions in writing to the Secretariat by 
29 September 2020. Parties were asked t o submit replies in writing by no later than 13 October 2020. WT/REG405/M/1  
 
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  In accordance with paragraph  13 of the Transparency Mechanism all written submissions, as well as 
minutes of this meeting would be circulated promptly, in all WTO  official languages, and will be  made 
available on the WTO website . 
1.25.   The Committee took note  of the comments made.  
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