Armenian Foreign Ministry says the country may apply for EU membership in November
18 October 20:17
Armenia may apply for membership in the European Union as early as November.
This was stated by the country’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in an interview with Deutsche Welle, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
“Maybe next month, maybe next year… But, as I said, this is our official policy,” Mirzoyan said, emphasizing Yerevan’s strategic course towards European integration.
The Armenian Foreign Minister also commented on the prospects for a visa-free regime with the EU, noting that this process could take from one to two years. Negotiations on visa liberalization were launched in September 2024 following Brussels’ decision to expand cooperation with Armenia. The European Union then expressed its readiness to abolish visas for short-term travel, provided that Yerevan carried out significant reforms in border control, migration, and the fight against corruption.
In April 2025, Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan signed a law approved by parliament on the country’s intention to join the European Union. At the end of August, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan suggested that Armenia might withdraw from the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in light of its European integration course.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that membership in the EU and the EAEU were incompatible. The Kremlin recognized European integration as Armenia’s sovereign right, but also noted that the republic would not be able to be a member of two different associations
In June, the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, praising the Armenian government’s commitment to democratic reforms, said the EU was ready to deepen its partnership with the republic “in all areas,” including defense and security.
