Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced on Monday 24 August that his country could soon send its official application for membership of the European Union (see EUROPE 13578/33).
In response to the request by the Russian, Belarusian, Kazakh and Kyrgyz presidents that a referendum be held to decide whether Armenia should join the EU or remain in the Eurasian Economic Union, Nikol Pashinyan told the Armenian Parliament that such a vote would make sense only once it was possible “to assess the realism” of such membership. For that, “Armenia must first submit its application for EU membership”, he explained, adding that his country could “launch this process in the near future, especially given the urgent requests of our partners in the Eurasian Economic Union”.
Asked about this announcement, European Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert said on 25 August that “Armenia (was) closer to the EU than ever”. “EU membership follows a well-defined process and is merit-based. It requires a formal application from the candidate country”, highlights Paula Pinho, another Commission spokesperson. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)