Armenia voices eagerness to join EU
- 1 March, 11:00
The Armenian Parliament’s speaker has voiced his country’s readiness to join the European Union.
‘We are ready and will move in the direction that will provide us with maximum security,” Simonyan said on Thursday, while responding to a journalist's question on whether Armenia was ready to deepen relations with the European Union and become an EU candidate.
“Today, democracy, being a democratic country, can be said to be our biggest security system’, said Simonyan.
Simonyan, however, did not disclose whether Armenia would officially submit an EU accession request. Armenia has been seeking closer diplomatic and security partnership with the European Union as its relations with its historical ally Russia has been deteriorating in recent months.
On February 13, the EU announced the launching of a “partnership agenda” that envisages visa liberalisation, trade, and security cooperation. Announcing the partnership agenda during the presser with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in Brussels, EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said the EU–Armenia relations “are stronger than ever.” Borrell stressed that “this decision sends a strong signal of our mutual interest in a new strategic phase in our relations, and it will provide a clear roadmap and a vision for the way forward.”
It should be noted that Armenia and the EU signed a Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership (CEPA) Agreement in March 2021, months after Armenia’s defeat in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War with neighbouring Azerbaijan.
