EU to provide 270 million euros in grants to Armenia, invest in key infrastructure projects – Von der Leyen – Public Radio of Armenia
We are delivering on our promise we made last October to stand shoulder by shoulder by Armenia and a promise to set a vision for the future of our partnership, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said ahead of the EU-US-Armenia high-level meeting in support of Armenia resilience on 5 April in Brussels.
“This vision will be underpinned on the European Union side by a resilience and gross plan for Armenia, 270 million euros in grants over the next four years. We will invest in making the Armenian economy and society more resistant to shocks, we will support the businesses, particularly the SMEs so that we can help them to grow, to innovate and to access new markets,” von der Leyen stated.
“The EU will invest in key infrastructure projects, e.g. the Black Sea Electricity Cable, which is a transmission route full of opportunities. It can notably bring clean, renewable energy into Europe, and we are ready to support it. In parallel, we will continue investing in Armenia’s renewable energy production and in better interconnections with Georgia,” she noted.
“We will also be exploring cross-border transport if and when conditions allow, and in this context we welcome your Crossroads of peace initiative,” the European Commission President stated.
“Finally, we come today with new measures for aviation and nuclear safety and for trade diversification. The support package we are presenting today will builds on the success of the existing economic and investment plan from the European Union for Armenia. It has already mobilized over half a billion euros in investments, and now we can do more with the fresh investment perspective,” she stated.
“We are not forgetting about the plight of the displaced Karabakh Armenians, the humanitarian situation of refugees in Armenia remains a priority. We have provided over 30 million in support of the refugees since last September, and we’re ready to do more to support the long-term integration of refugees,” Ursula von der Leyen said.
