Dear colleagues, media representatives,
I would like to thank High Representative Kallas and Commissioner Kos for hosting us in Brussels and for the excellent organization of this very productive meeting.
Madam High Representative, Madame Commissioner,
Looking back at the time since our last meeting in this format, I would like to emphasize that it has been a remarkable time for our partnership, marked by milestone developments.
While the CEPA - the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement - has been serving as a strong legal foundation of the Armenia - EU Partnership, we have developed our relations far beyond CEPA, enriching them with new dimensions.
What is remarkable is that the natural pace of the development of our relations, and the new milestones we achieve, sometimes exceeds our ability to formalise and incorporate them into our broader agenda.
Throughout this process, we appreciate the EU’s readiness to deepen our partnership through enabling specific items in its toolbox, including some designed for EU candidate states. This is a reflection of the mutual political commitment and interest as well as Armenia’s ambitions, aspirations and indices when it comes to our shared priorities.
So I want to go into several aspects of the most tangible joint deliverables.
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1st, with the aim of reaching concrete results for our citizens we jointly launched the Visa Liberalization Dialogue and see the progress, including through the Action Plan. Upon the implementation of the benchmarks, we will ensure enhanced mobility. Committed to reforms, we rely on the support of the EU and Member States as we walk towards the final visa-free travel.
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2nd, enhanced cooperation in the defense and security areas. Armenia received the first batch of assistance under the European Peace Facility, to look into new horizons for cooperation, during HR/VP Kallas’s visit to Armenia, we launched the Security and Defense Consultations, we also signed, and today we have already announced the ratification of the Framework Participation Agreement on Armenia’s joining the EU CSDP crisis management missions. Of course, the effective functioning of the EU Civilian Mission in Armenia is an important pillar of our cooperation.
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3rd, economy and reforms - The Resilience and Growth Plan is of paramount importance for accelerating the reform agenda, enhancing sectoral cooperation, and scaling up the investments in key strategic areas. We remain confident that our continued partnership will further strengthen Armenia’s resilience, including through the new engagements to counteract hybrid threats and continuously strengthen democratic institutions.
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4th, connectivity. It is already well acknowledged that Armenia’s vision for better regional connectivity - The “Crossroads of Peace” is not only fully in line with the EU's Global Gateway and Black Sea Strategy, but plays an important part in the respective connectivity chain. Thus, today we looked into both concrete projects and the prospects of wider unblocking of regional infrastructure, which can be a game changer, as highlighted by the President von der Leyen earlier this year. Among other initiatives, we touched upon the active work towards the realization of the “TRIPP Route” project. Here I should underline that the Agreements of the August 8 Washington Peace Summit have created unprecedented opportunities and momentum. Further potential steps, including the opening of the Armenian–Turkish border, and the advancement of major infrastructure projects could significantly transform the economic and political architecture of the entire region.
Dear colleagues,
All of these have prepared the groundwork for what we achieved today: a few minutes ago, we adopted a new - Armenia-EU Strategic agenda, complementing the CEPA and elevating our partnership agenda to a strategic level. And this is absolutely not the end of our ambition: as you are aware, Armenia’s Parliament adopted in March the law launching the accession process of Armenia to the EU.
The message from today’s meeting is clear: Armenia–EU partnership is entering a new and more ambitious phase, with a shared vision and a shared responsibility to further deliver meaningful results for our citizens. The first-ever Armenia-EU Summit to take place on 5th May 2026, back-to-back with the 8th European Political Community Summit in Yerevan, will be yet another remarkable occasion, so we look forward to welcoming you in Yerevan.
Thank you.
