YEREVAN, July 2. /TASS/. The European Commission has promised Armenia €38 million in aid and will open the European market to 80% of Armenian goods, EC President Ursula von der Leyen announced this at a press conference in Yerevan.
"First, you [Armenia - TASS] will soon receive an additional €18 million to help strengthen and diversify your trade. The funding can, for example, help establish an export promotion agency and boost the export capacity of Armenian businesses. These €18 million are the final part of the €52 million support package we discussed in our phone call in early June," Von der Leyen said.
"Second, we are going a step further: we are presenting a proposal for Autonomous Trade Measures. They will liberalize almost 80% of Armenian exports to the EU. That means 80% of your trade with us will now be tariff-free," she went on.
An additional €20 million will be allocated to support communities living in border areas, von der Leyen.
The EC sees that "Armenia is still facing significant economic pressure from Russia," but the pressure mounts on partners who have"chosen the European Union, the EU always "steps up."
