European People’s Party (EPP) mission, which is currently in Armenia to assess the fulfillment of criteria for membership of the EPP by four applicant parties, today launched its meetings starting with Heritage Party. On the morning, Heritage Party leader Raffi K. Hovannisian received the delegation members, and briefed them on the party’s activities, as well as responded to the questions raised by the delegation. At guests’ request, Hovannisian presented the activities carried out by the Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS) founded by him. Hovannisian attached value to Heritage’s long-term close cooperation with the EPP, and ascertained the imperative of conferring official status to it. Thereupon, the EPP mission visited Heritage central office, where they met the representatives of Party’s local divisions, and got acquainted with Heritage’s achievements and tasks to be accomplished in regard to the party building, and political activities. In Gilded Hall of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Heritage MPs received the delegation, and portrayed Party’s legislative activities, and legislative initiatives aimed at system reforms, Heritage Party Press Service informs. As previously announced, the visit of a fact-finding delegation to Armenia was scheduled to follow the EPP Political Assembly, held on November 8 2011, in Brussels, in events of which Raffi K. Hovannisian was invited to take part in, and to present Heritage application. The delegation includes members of the EPP Presidency, International Secretariat and representatives of member parties. The delegation is headed by Corien Wortmann-Kool, EPP Vice President, Member of the European Parliament (CDA, Netherlands) accompanied by Nicolas Briec, EPP Secretary for External Relations (UMP - France); Julia Zalustkaja, assistant to Nicolas Briec, EPP Secretary for External Relations, EPP (Estonia); Susanne Luther, Head of the Office for Foreign Affairs, CSU and Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSS-Germany); Denise O’Hara, Secretary General EPP/CD Group, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (Ireland); Bronne Pot, International Secretary (CDA-Netherlands); Diogo Belford Henriques, Deputy International Secretary and advisor to the Minister of State and Foreign Affairs of Portugal (CDS-PP, Portugal); Maria Varvara Zanni, Deputy International Secretary (ND - Greece); Laura Iglesias, Treasurer of Partido Popular of Belgica (PP-Spain); Emil Dimitrov Gushterov, Member of the National Assembly (GERB-Bulgaria); David Vriesendorp, Board Member Eduardo Frei Stichting, (CDA-Netherlands); Alfredo Mazzocchi, Professor/Italian State School Headmaster at Ministry of Education, University and Research, AIPPE (Italy); Constantinos Petrides, Director of the President’s Office (Democratic Rally of Cyprus).

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