In a joint statement with Pashinian issued after the talks, European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also welcomed the recent conclusion of negotiations on a new “partnership agenda” designed to deepen the EU’s ties with Armenia. But they said nothing about Yerevan’s plans to seek to eventually join the EU.
Amid heightened tensions with Russia, Pashinian’s administration enacted earlier this year a law declaring the “start of a process of Armenia's accession to the European Union.” The EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, hailed the passage of the law during a visit to Yerevan late last month. But she did not say whether the South Caucasus nation can realistically hope to join the 27-nation bloc in the foreseeable future.
The joint statement by Costa, von der Leyen and Pashinian made no mention of such a possibility. Nor did the three leaders comment on it in their opening remarks at the talks.
“During the meeting, the Leaders welcomed the recent political agreement on the text of the EU-Armenia New Partnership Agenda, a key milestone in their shared commitment to deepening ties,” read the statement.
The agenda has not yet been made public. It will presumably complement the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed by Brussels and Yerevan in 2017.
Von der Leyen said the EU’s ties with Armenia are already “closer than ever before”
“We have the Resilience and Growth Plan providing 270 million euros for Armenia [from 2024-2027,] and this shows the depth of Europe’s commitment,” said the head of the EU’s executive body.
“We know that your beautiful country can and will play a role in the future of Europe,” she told Pashinian.
Costa indicated that Armenia’s conflict with Azerbaijan will be high on the agenda of the talks. Von der Leyen expressed hope in this regard that an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty finalized in March will be signed “as soon as possible.” The ensuing joint statement praised the Armenian government’s peace efforts and, in particular, its position on transport links with Azerbaijan.
Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met in Abu Dhabi last Thursday. It is not clear whether the two sides moved closer to signing the peace treaty. Baku has for months made that conditional on a change of Armenia’s constitution. It also wants Yerevan to open an extraterritorial corridor to Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan exclave.