Armenian President, Vahagn Khachaturyan, on April 4, officially signed a law to initiate Armenia’s journey toward European Union membership, as announced by Armenia’s presidential press service.
While this law does not equate to immediate EU membership, it signals Armenia’s commitment to European integration, now embedded within the country’s legal framework.
The Armenian parliament had approved the bill, titled “On starting the process of accession of the Republic of Armenia to the European Union,” during its final reading on March 26.
The proposal, which originated as a civil petition after collecting 60,000 signatures, was endorsed by 64 lawmakers, with seven voting against it.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan emphasized that the accession process could only proceed following approval through a national referendum.
Previously, the Kremlin had cautioned that it is impossible for a country to be a member of both the European Union and the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), warning of the incompatibility of such dual membership.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov remarked, “Being members of two different organizations, hypothetically speaking, is simply impossible.”
The EAEU, established in 2015, includes Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan. It is widely regarded as a mechanism for Russia to maintain its influence over former Soviet states.
Armenia’s tensions with Russia have escalated following Moscow’s inability to prevent Azerbaijan’s offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023, which resulted in a large-scale exodus of Armenians from the region.
Pashinyan has reiterated that while Armenia desires closer ties with the EU, full membership remains uncertain.
In a March 2023 resolution, the European Parliament called for a deepening of ties with Armenia, acknowledging that the country fulfills the Maastricht Treaty’s criteria to apply for membership.
