European Aspirations
Shortly after assuming the chairmanship of the Party Serzh Sargsyan initiated a process of RPA’s membership to the European Peoples Party. Eventually, in February 2012 the party received observer status (the only available status for non-members of the EU) at EPP congress in Brussels. This was very much in the spirit of the ruling party’s European aspirations. The party has embraced the common European values and been a strong advocate of domestic reform agenda in key areas such as political, social, justice, economic, trade, taxation etc. considerably relying on EU assistance both financially and in terms of advice in implementing them.
In general the indispensable need for changes has underlain in the Party leader’s rhetoric. In his address to the 12th Congress of the Party in 2009 he specifically pointed that out:
“Today, we have all necessary prerequisites for action, for making change and being changed, always keeping in mind that every successive day Armenia must become a better place than she was yesterday. The time has come to freely change and unavoidably be changed.”
He sticks to the same spirit in his address to the 13th Congress of the Party:
“We have changed years-long stereotypes regarding criticism, rejected total intolerance towards dissent and reestablished the right of the opposition to have decent goals and honest intentions... Policies conducted by the state should support all, each and every one – equally. We are undertaking structural changes and reforms based on this understanding. This is an objective process; it is inevitable and above any political force. The future belongs to the force which stands for changes. Our Party has assumed a historic mission of spearheading Armenia’s reforms. We are a large party; tens of thousands are among our ranks. The time has come for us to increase and renew our qualities. Our activities result in changes within society and our country; hence we too should be able to change dynamically.”
The Party’s slogan for 2012 parliamentary election campaign was“Believe in order to change”.
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