A week of lectures on trade, anticorruption, and human rights issues has been organised by the EU Advisory Group to the Republic of Armenia at the European Regional Academy in Yerevan. The lectures introduce Armenian students to key areas in the development of EU-Armenia relations. The lecture week was opened on 14 May and will continue until 21 May. The opening session of the first EU Advisory Group Lecture Week provided insights into the structure and the functioning of the European Union’s political institutions in Brussels. Upcoming lectures will focus on various aspects of EU-Armenia relations, including EU support for an Armenian quality infrastructure reform, the EU framework on product safety and public interest protection, the role of the Human Rights Defender, and last but not least on EU best practices and standards to fight corruption. A detailed programme with all lectures is available. The Chairperson of the Republic of Armenia National Assembly Standing Committee on European Integration, Naira Zohrabyan, and the Rector of the European Regional Educational Academy, Andranik Avetisyan, as well as the Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Raul de Luzenberger and EU Advisory Group Team Leader Rolf Boehnke welcomed the initiative at the opening of the lecture week. The Rector of the European Regional Educational Academy and host of the lecture week, Andranik Avetisyan, said: “The main objectives of our Academy are the combination of Armenian and European educational programmes in accordance with European standards, the setting up of regional cooperation and dialogue between educational institutions of Armenia and neighbouring countries, and the involvement in processes of European educational integration. We are very proud, that this EU Advisory Group Lecture Week on trade, anticorruption, and human rights issues is organised in the European Regional Educational Academy.” “Initiatives like the EU Advisory Group Lecture Week help preparing young Armenians for a successful professional future,” said Raul de Luzenberger, Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia. “It is important for us to support students’ efforts to understand the challenges ahead and to imagine sustainable solutions. For this reason, the EU Advisory Group has recently started to recruit Armenian university graduates for a traineeship programme. With this new programme, we invite them to work closely together with European experts on a variety of political and economic issues in Yerevan for one year.” “The EU Advisory Group is a hands-on instrument of the European Union to support the Armenian government in its political and economic reform activities for the benefit of the Armenian people,” explained Rolf Boehnke, Team Leader of the EU Advisory Group. “While we mainly provide recommendations to political institutions, we also believe that public support and public understanding must be secured for any kind of reform.” All lectures will be given in English by international experts of the EU Advisory Group together with their counterparts in Armenian political institutions and will be prepared with a view to facilitate the dialogue between lecturers and students. An effective discussion after the presentations is expected to contribute to a better and deeper understanding of the topics.