Von der Leyen announces new funding and Autonomous Trade Measures to liberalise almost 80% of Armenian exports to EU

Armenia will soon receive an additional €18 million from the European Union to help strengthen and diversify Armenian trade, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced today during her visit to Yerevan. Together with Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, she met Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. 

Ursula von der Leyen said: “The recent elections have shown the strength of Armenia’s democracy. The Armenian people have chosen reform and a closer partnership with our Union. No country should be pressured for a sovereign choice. Armenia can count on us.”

The €18 million funding is the final part of the €52 million support package discussed by von der Leyen and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in a phone call in early June. According to the European Commission President, the funding can help, for example, to establish an export promotion agency and boost the export capacity of Armenian businesses. 

In Yerevan, von der Leyen also presented a proposal for Autonomous Trade Measures which will liberalise almost 80% of Armenian exports to the EU. With this tariff-free trade, Armenia will be able to re-route products that currently still rely heavily on the Russian market and send them to the European Union Single Market of 450 million consumers. According to von der Leyen, this measure will open the European doors to almost 99% of Armenia’s fresh fruits, vegetables, and plants and to more than 90% of Armenian exports of beverages and spirits that used to be exported to Russia. 

“In fact, over the past month, we have seen more and more Armenian flowers arriving on our market. I think this is a beautiful symbol of a new chapter in our economic partnership,” Ursula von der Leyen told Pashinyan. “And this is only the beginning. With these new measures in place, you will have the means to diversify – and to diversify fast.” 

Von der Leyen also announced that in mid-July, the EU will deploy experts to Armenia to work directly with local producers, businesses, and exporters to help them seize all the opportunities that a privileged partnership with the EU can offer.

A day earlier, in Baku, von der Leyen announced €20 million to support a peace-fostering programme for local populations in both Armenia and Azerbaijan. This funding will support local communities in Armenia and Azerbaijan through peace-fostering investments in healthcare, demining, skills development and local businesses, helping ensure that people experience the tangible benefits of peace in their everyday lives.

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Press release

Statement by President von der Leyen with Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan