EU working to bring Armenia closer - European Commission spokesman
BRUSSELS. Aug 25 (Interfax) - Armenia's accession to the European Union envisages a clearly defined and merit-based process, it requires an official application of the future candidate state, but Brussels already sees the country's closeness to the EU, European Commission spokesman Markus Lammert said.
"Armenia is closer to the EU as never before. Our first ever EU Armenia summit in Geneva was a success, on top of our excellent cooperation on the resilience and Growth Plan, the European Peace Facility and the partnership missions. Armenia has chosen to take a first step in the EU's direction by adopting on their side the so called EU bill. This is an important symbolic step," Lammert said at a briefing in Brussels on Tuesday, when asked to comment on Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's statement about the drafting process of Armenia's official application to join the EU.
"We are already working to bring Armenia closer to the EU via, for example, connectivity, trade, and many more things that we do with them," he said.
On March 26, 2025, Armenia's National Assembly passed the bill launching the process of the country's joining the EU.
On August 24, 2026, Pashinyan said that Armenia was planning to start preparations for a referendum on the accession to the EU.
"Armenia has to file a formal application for entering into the European Union in order to hold the referendum. This process requires a lot of work. We will launch this process in the coming period, especially considering the calls of our EAEU counterparts," Pashinyan said in parliament, as he presented the government program.
The EU accession referendum will follow the filing of an official application, the receiving the appropriate response, and the preparation of the process roadmap, he said.
Pashinyan said earlier that he viewed as a friendly gesture the statement by four EAEU heads of state on the need for a referendum so that Armenia could choose between further membership in the Eurasian Economic Union and the entry into the EU.
