Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's interview with Radio France International.
Armenia has a long history of relations with the European Union. Back in 2016, Armenia and the European Union signed the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement. Essentially, it concerns the approximation of our systems and the introduction of standards. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said this in an interview with Radio France Internationale (RFI), in response to a question about whether Armenia aims to join the EU.
“Since 2018, we have continued to bring our relations with the European Union closer. In 2025, a law was even adopted on launching the process of Armenia’s accession to the European Union. That law was adopted at the initiative of citizens,” the Prime Minister noted.
“One of the options is for the Republic of Armenia to become a member of the European Union. Why do I say one of the options? Because the European Union still has to make a decision on its enlargement policy. The desire of a country wishing to join, or of a state considering this issue, is not enough.
Even today, there are differing opinions within the European Union on whether it should enlarge or not. Therefore, the answer to this question also depends on that,” he said.
However, according to Pashinyan, the strategic goal of the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian people is to create alternatives.
“For a long time, we have lived in an environment and under conditions in which the Republic of Armenia and its people, including in foreign relations, have not had a wide range of alternatives. Our task is to create those alternatives.
Ultimately, every decision is made in a specific environment and under specific conditions. We have one goal in creating alternatives: the people of Armenia must be able to decide whether the country should remain a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, become a member of the European Union, or belong to neither the EU nor the EAEU.
At the same time, we will continue to reform the Republic of Armenia in any case, bringing it into line with European Union standards. If, at some point, Armenia is fully and objectively ready to become an EU member, the issue will once again depend on two main actors: whether the European Union will want to admit us and whether the people of Armenia will vote in favor of that option.
Even if Armenia is objectively ready but does not become a member of the European Union, the country will still have gained something. In that case, we will have a state that fully complies with European Union standards,” Nikol Pashinyan noted.
