The European Union and Armenia confirmed their rapprochement on Tuesday 5 May at the first-ever Armenia-EU Summit in Yerevan.
“Today’s summit marks an important milestone in the deepening of the partnership between the European Union and Armenia. It reflects the significant achievements of recent years”, emphasised the President of the European Council, António Costa, to the media at the end of the meeting.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, pointed out that the partnership was being enriched in four areas. The first is connectivity. The two parties signed an EU-Armenia Connectivity Partnership which aims to boost trade, create jobs, strengthen resilience and support regional stability, according to the Commission.
Ursula von der Leyen stressed the importance of transport. “Few countries are as uniquely positioned as Armenia. Your ‘Crossroads of Peace’ initiative has the potential to link Europe with the South Caucasus and Central Asia, and to turn Armenia into a key transport hub”, she explained, adding that the EU was ready to work on rebuilding border crossings as soon as the borders with neighbouring countries were reopened.
The President of the Commission also stressed that the rapid development of solar energy in Armenia was “remarkable”, pointing out that the EU was supporting projects aimed at strengthening energy independence. In addition, she said that Armenia’s emerging artificial intelligence and engineering ecosystem is a strength to build on.
The Connectivity Partnership will be institutionalised through high-level dialogues on connectivity and transport.
EU support for Armenia’s economy and social resilience is another area. “The European Union strongly supports Armenia’s socio-economic reform agenda, including through our technical and financial assistance”, António Costa reiterated. According to Ursula von der Leyen, implementation of the €270 million resilience and growth plan is progressing well. “We now expect the plan to leverage €2.5 billion in mobilised investments”, she announced.
The President of the Commission advocated private investment in the country. To support this, the EU has launched a call for expressions of interest, inviting companies from the EU, the European Economic Area and Armenia to develop strategic investment projects. On the fringes of the summit, the first letters of intent were signed with selected private sector partners in the fields of digital infrastructure, semiconductor skills, innovation ecosystems and the mobilisation of private investment.
Another area for further development concerns home affairs. Aware that one of the Armenians’ priorities is to obtain visa liberalisation, Ursula von der Leyen stressed that the first progress report was positive. “It shows good work and the progress since last November”, she said, expressing her conviction that Armenians will succeed in obtaining visa liberalisation.
In addition, Frontex and the Armenian Ministry of Home Affairs signed a working agreement to strengthen their cooperation in border and migration management.
Finally, security is the last pillar where relations have been strengthened, notably with the announcement on 21 April of the establishment of a partnership mission (EUPM Armenia) (see EUROPE 13853/12).
Looking beyond the bilateral relationship, the EU representatives welcomed the progress made in normalising Armenia’s relations with its neighbours Azerbaijan and Turkey. "The European Union will continue to support the regional peace and normalisation processes, working along with you to build that future together”, promised António Costa to the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
While the President of the Commission said that the peaceful ‘velvet revolution’ of 2018 had demonstrated Armenia’s commitment to fundamental European values, neither she nor Mr Costa mentioned the country’s goal of EU membership. The joint statement issued at the end of the summit merely states that “the EU supports Armenia’s willingness to intensify the bilateral partnership through sectoral integration and rapprochement with the EU acquis” and that it acknowledges the European aspirations of the Armenian people, with the adoption in March 2025 of the ‘Law on Launching Armenia’s EU accession process’, “expressing the country’s intention to move towards the EU”. Nikol Pashinyan emphasised the reforms underway in his country, explaining that this law was “an excellent additional incentive to relaunch democratic and institutional reforms so that the Republic of Armenia obtains the status of a country in line with EU standards as soon as possible”.
To see the joint statement: https://aeur.eu/f/lt2 (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)