OSCE raises quality of Armenian mass media

The two-day seminar for mass media kicked off in Yerevan today. The seminar was organized by the OSCE and public organization Europe in Law Association and financed by the EU. The seminar is dedicated to the forthcoming parliamentary election on 6 May and is directed to their fair and impartial coverage.

The purpose of the seminar is to raise information awareness of Armenian journalists about the electoral processes, as well as to raise the quality of coverage along with observing of ethical norms. The head of the OSCE Yerevan office Andrey Sorokin made a speech at the opening ceremony of the seminar. He said it is very much important to have a correct and impartial approach to the coverage of the election, as it is the key factor for holding of fair and democratic elections. He also added that the seminar will allow journalists to gain the needed knowledge for impartial coverage of the forthcoming elections, as in their turn, having enough knowledge a journalist will help a voter to make the right choice.

For his part, representative of US Embassy in Armenia Chistopher Anderson said that the USA will support Armenia to hold fair and democratic elections. He also added that fair and democratic elections will allow Armenia to come forward at the world arena more confidently.

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The European Parliament approved the temporary elimination of customs duties on goods exported from Armenia to the EU in a plenary session.

The European Parliament approved the temporary elimination of customs duties on goods exported from Armenia to the EU in a plenary session.

The European Parliament, during its plenary session in Strasbourg, approved the European Commission's proposal to apply a system of trade measures for "Made in Armenia" products, which means there will be a temporary elimination of customs duties on a wide range of products imported from Armenia to the European Union.   The proposal presented by the European Commission was adopted at the plenary session of the Council of Europe with 583 votes in favor, 49 against and 39 abstentions. According to the proposal, the European Union plans to eliminate customs duties on a number of Armenian goods for a period of two years. At the same time, it is planned to establish duty-free import quotas for eight types of Armenian agricultural products. These include grapes, apricots, cherries, peaches, and cucumbers. The draft also provides for safeguard mechanisms that will allow the European Union to intervene, if necessary, if increased imports from Armenia have a negative impact on European producers. This step is due to the restrictions imposed by Russia on a number of important Armenian export products since May 2026. They relate, in particular, to alcoholic beverages, mineral waters, fruits and vegetables, as well as their transit through Russian territory. According to the European Commission, these restrictions have disrupted Armenia's traditional supply chains and significantly limited the country's access to traditional export markets. The situation has had a particularly severe impact on small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as agricultural producers, while creating challenges for Armenia's economic resilience. The EU sees the initiative as a temporary measure to support the Armenian economy and create additional opportunities for exporters to access the EU market. The next step for the proposal is formal approval by the EU Council. The regulation will enter into force the day after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. Let us recall that on September 2, the Council of the European Union approved the proposal to establish temporary trade liberalization measures for Armenian products and sent the draft to the European Parliament for approval. 

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Today, commonspace.eu starts a new regular weekly series. THURSDAY INTERVIEW, conducted by Lauri Nikulainen, will host  persons who are thinkers, opinion shapers, and implementors in their countries and spheres. We start the series with an interview with Murad Muradov, a leading person in Azerbaijan's think tank community. He is also the first co-chair of the Action Committee for a new Armenian-Azerbaijani Dialogue. Last September he made history by being the first Azerbaijani civil society activist to visit Armenia after the 44 day war, and the start of the peace process. Speaking about this visit Murad Muradov said: "My experience was largely positive. My negative expectations luckily didn’t play out. The discussions were respectful, the panel format bringing together experts from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey was particularly valuable during the NATO Rose-Roth Seminar in Yerevan, and media coverage, while varied in tone, remained largely constructive. Some media outlets though attempted to represent me as more of a government mouthpiece than an independent expert, which was totally misleading.  Overall, I see these initiatives as important steps in rebuilding trust and normalising professional engagement. The fact that soon a larger Azerbaijani civil society visits to Armenia followed, reinforces the sense that this process is moving in the right direction." (click the image to read the interview in full)