Yerevan /Mediamax/. New Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn is planning to strengthen cooperation with Armenia.

Mediamax notes that since 2010, Johannes Hahn has held the post of European Commissioner for Regional Policy simultaneously with the post of the Vice President European People's Party (EPP). Over 2007-2009, Johannes Hahn was the Austrian Federal Minister for Science and Research.

At the parliamentary hearings around a month ago, the new EU commissioner who will take up his post on November 1 has presented his views on a number of issues.

Mediamax has picked out some of them.

“The ENP needs to become more flexible. Our neighbouring countries are too diverse to apply a one-size-fits-all approach. The ENP needs to be able to respond more quickly and effectively to crises. The policy needs to work not just country by country, but field by field, to ensure that we have the right tools to deliver on all key issues, including energy, free trade, migration, and with a particular emphasis on good governance.

Differentiation is a core element of the ENP, and we should go further to take into account the situation in each country. Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine in the East, as well as Morocco and Tunisia in the South, are all willing to move ahead with reforms and to form very close links with the EU. I will make sure that they receive all the support they need, in a tailor-made way, to continue the political and economic reform processes.

Cooperation with other countries might in some cases have to be less ambitious, and we need to reflect further on how to pursue relations on a case by case basis.

The ENP is a framework for indispensable engagement in the East and South. However, it must keep pace with changing circumstances. President Juncker has asked me to come forward with recommendations during my first year in office. I will want to consult widely on this, including with you, but a few things are already clear:

First, we have always said the ENP must take a differentiated approach to each country. Now we must make this a reality.

Second, the policy needs to be more flexible and allow for a quick response when our partners need us.

Third, I want to be sure that we have the right tools for cooperation on all key issues, including energy, trade, and migration.

Fourth, we need to strengthen the joint ownership of our relations with our neighbours. We need stronger involvement of civil society in the broadest sense, including business.

I want to strengthen cooperation with Armenia and Azerbaijan. And I intend to step up our policy of critical engagement with Belarus.

I will also support Federica Mogherini in bolstering the EU's role and contribute to resolving the frozen conflicts in our Eastern neighbourhood.

Together with the HR/VP, I want to move forward our dialogue with Russia. Russia should not underestimate the EU's resolve to stand by its principles but should also understand that our Neighbourhood Policy and the Eastern partnership are not a project designed at Russia's expense”.

When one MEP noted that Turkey has jailed more journalists than China or Iran, Hahn said: “It’s unacceptable that anybody is jailed for reasons related to freedom of expression and this is something you can be assured I will address in the accession negotiations”.

He added that no new chapters in the EU entry talks will be opened until Ankara “proves over a time period” that it is serious on reform.