'Historic moment': EU hands Armenia visa liberalisation action plan
Armenia receives EU visa liberalisation plan
The European Union has officially handed Armenia a visa liberalisation action plan. The country’s authorities called the event “historic,” emphasising that it is the result of joint efforts.
“With great responsibility, I want to note that today Armenia is the only country engaged in dialogue with the EU on visa liberalisation,” said Interior Minister Arpine Sargsyan.
Johannes Luchner, Deputy Director-General for Migration and Home Affairs at the European Commission, handed the plan to the Armenian authorities. He said the document outlines a broad series of reforms in fields from national security to human rights. Armenia is expected to carry these out in the coming years.
“We are ready to continue our cooperation to make these goals a reality,” Luchner said.
The deadline for completing the visa liberalisation process remains unknown. Neither the minister nor the EU official set a timeline. Luchner said the process will take “as long as necessary to achieve the reform objectives,” and stressed that both the EU and Armenia want the process to be “not only fast, but also of high quality.”
Armenia and the European Union announced the start of a visa liberalisation dialogue in September 2024.
- Armenia between the West and Russia: risks of the government’s ‘balanced’ policy
- Pashinyan: “Armenia’s democracy is a reality, not the goodwill of the authorities”
- EU investments in Armenia to reach €2.5 billion: meeting in Brussels
‘Not just a technical process, but a chance to deepen ties‘
According to Armenia’s Interior Minister, Arpine Sargsyan, the EU visa liberalisation action plan offers Armenia a chance to deepen its ties with the European family and its system of values.
“It is also a key opportunity to strengthen humanitarian, economic, cultural, and educational links between Armenia and the European Union,” Sargsyan said.
She described the official handover of the action plan as proof of the effectiveness of Armenia’s joint work with the EU and of both sides’ readiness to carry the process through to full visa liberalisation.
Sargsyan stressed that Armenia is committed to implementing all the provisions of the document. She noted that planned reforms will cover migration management, asylum procedures, border security, human rights, and public safety. She said all these areas are “at the heart of Armenia’s European integration agenda.” The action plan, she added, fully aligns with the country’s ongoing reform policies.
“The plan contains a range of measures that will have a major impact on people’s lives in Armenia. And, of course, give them the chance to travel with dignity across EU member states,” Sargsyan said.
EU expert teams to visit Armenia
According to the European Commission’s Deputy Director-General for Migration and Home Affairs, Armenia must now officially respond to the visa liberalisation action plan. At the same time, the EU will send expert teams to the country.
“Our expert teams will travel to Armenia to assess the situation in various areas and prepare progress reports. The programme is divided into two stages. The first focuses on introducing legislative changes and adopting legal acts. The second involves putting these into practice,” explained Johannes Luchner.
The European Commission representative noted that Armenia has already implemented several key reforms at a swift pace.
Luchner highlighted, in particular, Armenia’s steps to introduce a biometric passport system, which the EU has assessed as “successful.”
“Since the Armenian authorities have worked efficiently and quickly on implementing biometric passports, we can expect the system to launch early next year. The remaining components are at the legislative level and will move forward as ongoing processes,” Luchner said, adding that the EU intends to ensure steady progress in their implementation.
Armenia receives EU visa liberalisation plan
