Job Advert printed in the Economist
EUROPEAN UNION ADVISORY GROUP
TO THE GOVERNMENT OF ARMENIA
VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
Acknowledging the particular progress made by Armenia in its relationship with the European Union and intending to substantially strengthen its cooperation with Armenia, the European Commission has launched a tailor-made initiative—the EU Advisory Group to Armenia—which was discussed and agreed between Serge Sargsyan, President of the Republic of Armenia, and José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, in Brussels in November 2008.
Since early 2009, the European Union has deployed a team of high-level EU Advisers in selected branches of the Armenian public administration to support the implementation of the EU-Armenia European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan (ENP AP—see: http://ec.europa.eu/world/enp/documents_en.htm#3 for full text).
The EU Advisors have already started their work with the Armenian authorities to support the Government's reform agenda. Specifically, the EU Advisors provide high-level technical advice to design, steer and implement reforms aiming at strengthening the capacity of the Presidency and the Legislative, Executive and Judiciary powers of Armenia in line with the ENP AP with a particular focus on democracy, good governance, rule of law and market economy.
To expand the core group of advisors, the European Commission seeks advisers in the following fields:
- Deputy Team Leader, to assist the Team Leader in the day to day management of the Advisory Group, including coordination with European Commission Services and EU Member State authorities. Experience from EU enlargement and twinning will be a strong asset.
- Adviser to the Minister of Finance and to the Head of the State Revenue Committee of Armenia, to advise on practical issues of the application of the tax laws with regard to tax audits, based on the best practices applied in main European countries.
- Adviser to the Minister of Economy on Intellectual Property Rights, to advise on all issues related to bringing the current Armenian legislation and enforcement of intellectual property rights in line with EU legislation and best practices, in the context of future DCFTA negotiations.
- Adviser to the Minister of Economy on Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Regulations, to advise on all issues related to bringing the current Armenian legislation and institutional arrangements on sanitary and phyto-sanitary matters in line with EU legislation and best practices, in the context of future DCFTA negotiations.
- Adviser to the Minister of Economy on Technical Barriers to Trade, to advise on all issues related to bringing the current Armenian legislation and institutional arrangements on technical barriers to trade in line with EU legislation and best practices, in the context of future DCFTA negotiations.
- Communication Officer, to assist the Armenian authorities in raising public awareness of the cooperation between Armenia and the European Union, including contact with media, public events and website management.
Advisers will work in collaboration with other EU Advisors under the supervision of the Team Leader and the Delegation of the European Commission to Armenia, who will ensure the coherence of all Advisers' interventions.
Detailed terms of references and required profiles for the advisers are available at: http://www.delarm.ec.europa.eu/en/group/profiles.htm. Eligible applicants will be nationals of EU Member States. The foreseen duration of the assignments is until April 2010, with possible extension.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2008-2009 were promising to present quite a few diplomatic challenges to the Foreign Ministry in Turkey, which needed to exert all its manipulative powers and persuasion to surmount them.
agent Mr. Talat, the leader of the Turkish-Cypriot community or as they and Turkey like to call, the pseudo President of the pseudo Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, making all the right kind of noises European leaders so love to hear. This has been greatly assisted inadvertently by the election of a ‘soft’ president in the south, who was ready to make a sincere effort to find a mutually acceptable agreement to a solution of the Cyprus problem. The negotiations that have already started have now reached to a point where the Greek Cypriot ‘soft’ President has been manoeuvred to find himself being forced to warn his counterpart Mr. Talat of suspending the said negotiations, thus risking being considered as the intransigent one and being blamed for making progress difficult. And naturally, the Europeans in order not to complicate matters any more, in order to maintain the good climate and in order encourage Turkey to continue playing a positive role, have stopped pressuring her to abide by the her agreements and obligations towards the EU and its member states. In the meantime, Turkish ports remain closed to Cypriot vessels, and Turkey refuses to recognise the Cypriot government. And as long as some kind of a negotiation process is underway, Turkey is off the hook, because no one would dare antagonise her and risk being accused of hindering the negotiations.
Selling MEI or preparing the grounds to close Melkonian was in long works and some of us thought it was just rumour at that time, but where's there's smoke there's fire. So the decision was made to the horror shock of many and to some not so at all as they knew it but didn't object to it based on their own personal experiences and ideas. At the end of the day we in the Diaspora have lost another institute to sustain us in education and character. I know of some in Larnaca who were hoping to send their kids to MEI, but their hopes have been dashed.
its partners think that every Armenian will move to Armenia? Or have they forgotten how many of the Armenians are leaving the mother land to go to America or anywhere else?!! I am not judging of course these people who are moving away but I questioning and so many of us have questioned the wisdom (if there's any) in closing down MEI! I still remember before leaving Lebanon how much pressure we faced and how many times we faced walls of rejection and sarcastic remarks...and how some of our articles that the Alumni in Lebanon had prepared to be published in Zartonk were sometimes rejected (Thankfully Aztag, Dgazghig and Ararat were around)...because we were daring to question AGBU and its 'vision and plans' to MEI.
spent...? Who and where is the income from the leased property is going to? Is it going into MEI's fund/account (where correctly and logically should be) or into AGBU account just because they were handed the management? Supposedly MEI was "a loss making institute", why as AGBU who is collecting millions of donations didn't make an effort to cover the loss if there was any? Isn't it what AGBU is supposed to do? Should we ask to their other clubs and schools and the churches in Beirut how much support they are getting from AGBU?...Isn't AGBU supposed to be clear and open Benevolent Union? It was - but not anymore unfortunately. I have repeatedly said before I have nothing against AGBU for what is used to stand for in the past in every community - but that has changed dramatically in the last decades. Mottoes have shifted, directions have changed under the guide of "modern needs".
