Strasbourg – It hardly seems to be the winning horse to back, and not even the move most likely to offer concrete hope to pro-EU citizens in Armenia that EU membership might be within reach. Yet Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was unequivocal in his remarks at the European Parliament’s plenary session: “Georgia is our path to the European Union.”
Addressing MEPs in Strasbourg on 11 March, Prime Minister Pashinyan took stock of the state of EU–Armenia relations following his previous special address in October 2023. Since then, Yerevan has adopted the Law on Launching the Accession Process of the Republic of Armenia to the European Union – which entered into force in April 2025 – and is now exploring the possibility of submitting a formal application for EU membership to the Council.
However, he made it clear that “the biggest obstacle” to Armenia’s EU integration at present is “the frozen state of political dialogue between the European Union and Georgia,” noting that Yerevan’s EU membership perspective had been considered “tangible” since Brussels granted Tbilisi candidate status in December 2023.
But why expose himself so openly alongside a country whose candidate status has been described in Brussels as “only on paper,” in light of the dramatic backsliding in the respect for fundamental rights? First, because of geographical proximity: Georgia remains Yerevan’s only trusted partner among its neighbours. Second, because Pashinyan’s government has never openly criticised Georgian Dream following the disputed 2024 elections, and seems to share a similar degree of ambiguity in its relations with Russia.
“Our expectation and request is that the constructive European Union–Georgia process will continue to develop. This is as important for Armenia as it is for Georgia,” Pashinyan added.
Towards the EU membership application?
While describing the adoption of the law on potential EU accession as “a new historic chapter” for the country and “an incentive to continue the democratic reform process,” Prime Minister Pashinyan also poured cold water on the prospect of submitting a membership application in the short term.
While Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan had suggested that an application could be sent to Brussels “soon,” the head of government – already in campaign mode ahead of the national vote on 7 June – offered no timeline and did not signal any intention to call a referendum on EU accession, as required by the national Constitution.
Asked when Armenia might become a member of the European Union, Pashinyan insisted that “our answer is very clear” – though in practice it was not. “No country can become a member of the EU without meeting its standards,” he said, stressing the need to continue the reform process and to “first objectively meet the EU’s accession criteria.”
He also shifted part of the responsibility to the EU institutions, noting that once an application is submitted “there are two possibilities: either the EU will accept us, or it will not.” Pashinyan acknowledged that EU enlargement “is not a simple matter,” describing it above all as “a political decision” taken by the current member states.
His remarks also revealed a pragmatic but not particularly resolute approach to the issue: “If the EU accepts Armenia as a full member, that is very good. If it does not, we will still benefit, because we will be a country that meets EU standards.”
The state of EU–Armenia relations
Relations between Armenia and the European Union have developed since Yerevan’s independence in 1991. The South Caucasus country joined the EU’s Eastern Partnership in 2009.
Negotiations on an Association Agreement began a year later but were suspended in 2013 after Armenia announced its decision to join the Eurasian Economic Union – an economic bloc comprising five post-Soviet countries, including Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan – which the EU considered incompatible with the agreements being negotiated with Brussels.
Despite the EEU membership, a new Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement was signed in February 2017, entering into force in March 2021. Although Yerevan’s trade with the EU exceeds that with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan combined, the country has historically depended on Russia for security.
The process that could eventually lead to an EU membership application informally began with the speech by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the European Parliament in October 2023, when he concluded by declaring that “Armenia is ready to come as close to the EU as the EU considers possible.”
After a citizens’ initiative successfully gathered 50,000 signatures in November 2024 – allowing a legislative proposal to launch the EU accession process to be submitted – the Armenian parliament passed the bill, which became law on 4 April 2025. Under the national constitution, a referendum must be held before submitting an application to join any supranational organisation, including the European Union.
