EU ready to consider possible visa liberalization options, Armenia-EU Partnership Council reaffirms

A joint press statement was released following Tuesday’s fifth meeting of the Armenia-EU Partnership Council, the Armenian foreign ministry informs. The press statement reads as follows:

“The Armenia-EU Partnership Council met for the fifth time in Brussels on 13 February 2024. The meeting confirmed the mutual interest and commitment of Armenia and the EU to strengthen and deepen their relations based on common values. To this end, they agreed to launch work on a new Armenia-EU Partnership Agenda, establishing more ambitious joint priorities for cooperation across all dimensions.

The EU announced an additional €5.5 million in humanitarian aid to support the displaced Karabakh Armenians. This funding comes in addition to the €12,2 million to address urgent humanitarian needs, as well as the recent adoption of €15 million budget support for socio-economic needs.

The Partnership Council reviewed the implementation of the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA). The EU welcomed Armenia’s commitment to CEPA implementation, appreciated the progress achieved and encouraged Armenia to pursue its reform agenda. The new Armenia-EU Partnership Agenda will aim to unlock the full potential of the CEPA.

The Partnership Council reiterated the shared commitment of Armenia and the EU  to human rights, the rule of law and democratic principles. The Partnership Council welcomed the accomplishments to date on the implementation of justice reform and the fight against corruption, the creation of a Ministry of Interior and the reform of the police service in Armenia, with EU support. The parties also acknowledged remaining challenges in the fight against discrimination, hate speech and disinformation, and Armenia committed to work towards further progress in these areas. The EU commended Armenia on recently becoming the 124th state party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and encouraged Armenia to consider relevant capacity-building opportunities.

The Partnership Council acknowledged Armenia’s willingness to start a visa liberalisation dialogue with the EU, and the EU’s preparedness to continue to undertake further efforts to explore options to do so, further to the November 2023 Foreign Affairs Council. The EU welcomed the implementation of the Visa Facilitation agreement and of the Readmission agreements by Armenia and encouraged Armenia to sustain and further up its efforts.

The EU expressed its commitment to stand by Armenia to strengthen its resilience in different sectors, notably trade, energy and connectivity. The Partnership Council noted that while CEPA did not provide for preferential tariffs for trade in goods, it contained important potential for increasing bilateral trade flows. The parties committed to unlocking this potential through joint efforts. The parties committed to further cooperation to prevent sanctions circumvention while the EU commended Armenia’s efforts in this regard.

The EU underlined the importance of applying administratively the Common Aviation Area Agreement, which has the potential to create new and more direct air transport connections and generate economic benefits to both sides. The parties discussed ways to advance the energy transition of their economies to become more resilient and competitive. The EU reiterated its support to Armenia’s participation in the Black Sea electricity cable project. The parties will continue to work together to enhance Armenia’s energy production from renewable sources, including through investments under the Economic and Investment Plan, as well as to ensure nuclear safety.

The parties also reaffirmed the importance of combating climate change, and in this context welcomed Armenia’s adoption of a Long-Term Low Emissions Development Strategy, and encouraged Armenia to further scale up its ambitions to reach climate neutrality.

The Partnership Council discussed the progress made in reforms of the education, research, health, social protection and civil protection sectors. The parties acknowledged the positive evolution of Armenia-EU cooperation on research & innovation, and discussed how to use the unexploited potential on digital connectivity.

The Partnership Council underlined the importance of the Eastern Partnership framework as a regional cooperation platform. The Partnership Council noted that the Economic and Investment Plan (EIP) has successfully mobilised over €550 million worth of investments in Armenia. It supported amongst others regional connectivity, access to finance for SMEs, green buses and energy efficient public buildings, and the socio-economic development of Syunik, which also benefits from a dedicated Team Europe Initiative. The Partnership Council expressed a commitment to continue fostering sustainable development in Armenia by leveraging public and private investments and welcomed the recently launched Armenia-EU Investment Coordination Platform.

The EU side also expressed its strong condemnation of Russia’s illegal aggression against Ukraine and the negative effects this unjustified war has for the wider Eastern Partnership region, Europe as a whole and globally.

Armenia informed the EU about the humanitarian and human rights impact of Azerbaijan’s use of force in Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023 and the subsequent displacement. The EU reiterated its rejection of the use or the threat of use of force, also in the context of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations and supports a peaceful conflict resolution.

The parties further stressed the absolute necessity of establishing durable peace and stability in the South Caucasus. The EU reiterated its commitment to support the normalisation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan based on the principles of mutual recognition of territorial integrity and inviolability of internationally recognized borders based on the 1991 Almaty Declaration. The EU welcomed the policy direction of the Government of Armenia aimed at working towards peace and normalisation in the region, including the opening of regional transport links under the countries’ sovereignty and national jurisdiction, as well as according to the principles of equality and reciprocity, which also underpin Armenia’s ‘Crossroads of Peace’ project. Armenia welcomed the ongoing strengthening of the EU Mission in Armenia. The parties confirmed the need to fully, immediately and effectively implement all the International Court of Justice orders in the case on the Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Armenia v. Azerbaijan).

Ahead of the Partnership Council, the EU issued the Partnership Implementation Report on Armenia-EU relations since the previous Partnership Council in May 2022. The report underlined that Armenia continued implementing an ambitious reform agenda with strong EU support including financial assistance. It concludes that Armenia-EU relations have never been stronger.

The Partnership Council was chaired by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Mr Josep Borrell. The Armenian delegation was led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, Mr Ararat Mirzoyan. The European Commission’s Director-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, Mr Gert Jan Koopman, also participated in the meeting.”