A standing committee of the Armenian parliament rejected on Wednesday the opposition Yelk alliance’s calls for a parliamentary inquiry into consequences of Armenia’s membership in the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).
Representatives of the pro-Western bloc proposed earlier this month the creation of the ad hoc commission after the pro-government majority in the National Assembly objected to its draft parliamentary declaration saying that the Armenian authorities must embark on a “process” of invalidating their accession treaty with the EEU.
The proposed declaration says that EEU membership, effective from January 2015, has hurt the country’s economy and security. Yelk’s leaders decided to postpone parliamentary discussions on the document for now and focus instead on the idea of setting up the commission.
One of them, Nikol Pashinian, made a case for an EEU-related inquiry at a meeting of the parliament committee on foreign relations. All but one members of the committee voted for a formal negative assessment of the Yelk proposal after a heated debate with Pashinian. They are affiliated with the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), its junior coalition partner, Dashnaktsutyun, and Gagik Tsarukian’s bloc, which claims to be in opposition to the government.
“We should be a bit more careful in dealing with this issue,” said Ararat Zurabian, a deputy from the Tsarukian Bloc.
Dashnaktsutyun’s parliamentary leader, Armen Rustamian, objected to both the essence and timing of Yelk’s initiative. He claimed that it could endanger the upcoming signing of a landmark agreement between Armenia and the European Union.
Artashes Geghamian, a pro-Russian lawmaker representing the ruling HHK, claimed that Armenia would have endured the kind of armed conflicts and turmoil that are continuing in Ukraine had President Serzh Sarkisian not decided to join the EEU in September 2013. Sarkisian’s decision scuttled an Association Agreement negotiated by Armenian and EU officials earlier in 2013.
Pashinian seized upon to Geghamian’s remarks as further proof that Armenia’s membership in the EEU is the result of Russian “blackmail.”
Despite the negative verdict of the committee, Yelk is allowed by the National Assembly statutes to initiate a 90-minute debate on the issue on the parliament floor. Edmon Marukian, another Yelk leader, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) that the bloc will force such a debate.
Yelk holds 9 seats in the 105-member parliament. The three other political groups represented in the legislature oppose Armenia’s exit from the EEU.