During a visit by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen to the South Caucasus, the EU announced on Thursday 2 July a series of measures aimed at deepening its partnership with Armenia in the areas of trade, investment and infrastructure.
This support comes as Armenia faces trade restrictions imposed by Russia. In retaliation for Yerevan’s closer ties with the European Union, Moscow has been imposing import restrictions on a range of Armenian products since the end of May. The EU had already announced an initial tranche of aid at the beginning of June to help the country cope with this economic pressure (see EUROPE 13881/20).
“Armenia is still facing significant economic pressure from Russia. Nothing short of economic coercion, actually. But rest assured: when pressure mounts on our partners, the EU steps up”, Ms von der Leyen said in Yerevan.
Support for diversification. Regarding the commercial side, the autonomous trade measures announced will liberalise approximately 80% of Armenian exports to the EU. These measures primarily concern sectors heavily dependent on the Russian market, covering nearly 99% of Armenian exports of fruit, vegetables and plants to Russia, as well as over 91% of beverages and spirits.
To accelerate the implementation of these measures, the Commission will deploy experts to Armenia starting in mid-July to support producers and exporters in adapting to European standards, strengthening their export capacities and facilitating their access to the single market.
The trade measures will still need to be approved by the European Parliament and the EU Council under the ordinary legislative procedure. They will apply for a period of two years. “At the same time, we will continue to work closely with Armenia in order to deepen our partnership as much as possible”, a European Commission spokesperson, Arianna Podesta, said.
Global Gateway. Meanwhile, the EU presented a new investment package under its Global Gateway initiative. The ‘Peace through Connectivity Package’ provides up to €200 million in European funding and could mobilise up to €2 billion in public and private investment in transport, energy and digital projects in the Caucasus region.
An additional €20 million was also announced under the ‘Peace Dividend Initiative’ (see EUROPE 13900/11). (Original version in French by Juliette Verdes)