EU presents plans on stronger cooperation with Armenia: support to economy and security and visa liberalisation

On 27 February, the European Commissioner for International Relationships Jutta Urpilainen presented a new partnership agenda with Armenia on behalf of EU High Representative Josep Borrell.

Based on common values, it will be composed of three building blocks.

First, the EU will work to strengthen Armenia’s resilience and diversify its economy through increased cooperation in trade, energy, connectivity and aviation safety. According to the Commissioner, the EU and Armenia are discussing options to start a visa liberalisation dialogue for enhanced people to people contacts.

“Armenia has expressed its strong interest in this, and we encouraged its leadership to step up work on the relevant reforms. Launching the visa liberalisation dialogue would send an important political signal to Armenian citizens, and it would provide leverage for further reforms,” said Jutta Urpilainen.

Secondly, the EU looks forward to reinforcing its civilian mission in Armenia (EUMA), and is considering a possible European Peace Facility measure. “And we are scaling up our dialogue on foreign and security policy, also looking into [Armenia’s] participation in EU-led missions and operations,” said Urpilainen.

Thirdly, “stepping-up investments will be key for closer economic cooperation”, the Commissioner said. She added that the EU was committed to supporting Armenia’s participation in the Black Sea electricity cable and other regional connectivity projects. 

She concluded that the EU’s “strong commitment to the Armenia-Azerbaijan normalisation process remains unchanged”.

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Press release