Armenia moves closer to EU membership with new bill
The government in Yerevan has approved a bill to begin Armenia’s process of joining the European Union. The document will be sent to Parliament for approval, according to Armenia News.
The document states that the approval of this initiative "will make the expectations of the citizens of the Republic of Armenia regarding its full membership in the European Union more realistic."
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the bill does not imply Armenia’s membership in the European community in the literal sense, as the decision to join the union can only be made through a national referendum.
In September, Armenia and the European Union began negotiations on a visa-free regime. The condition for removing visas for Armenian citizens traveling to EU countries for short stays is the implementation of reforms, including in the areas of border control, migration, and the fight against corruption.
Armenia is a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Eurasian Economic Union, both of which are led by Russia, according to g4media.ro. Last January, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan suspended Armenia’s participation in the CSTO after accusing the organization of inaction during the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia, a conflict that resulted in the expulsion of ethnic Armenians from the Azerbaijani territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
