The Council of the European Union, the EU’s main decision-making body, endorsed a move July 22 to open talks with Armenia on visa-free travel. The process is expected to take years, but for Yerevan it provides a major incentive to continue its geopolitical pivot away from Russia towards the West.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan “welcomed the decision” to kickstart visa liberalization talks. Mirzoyan and Defense Minister Suren Papikyan additionally thanked Brussels for providing 10 million euros in non-lethal military assistance to Armenia within the framework of the European Peace Facility. 

Traditionally, the granting of visa-free travel for citizens marks a major milestone for states aspiring to integrate with the EU. To succeed, Yerevan will have to undertake wide-ranging reforms, including upgrading security procedures and tightening the framework covering illegal migration. 

Given the reform obligations, it is certain that visa-free travel to the EU will not be available to Armenians any time soon. Neighboring Georgia, for example, took five years to secure visa-free travel rights. The process lasted four years for Moldova, and nine years for Ukraine.

The road for Armenia will be tougher; unlike those three states, Yerevan does not have an association agreement with the EU. Armenian-EU relations are currently governed by a lower-level arrangement known as a Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement. Armenia’s membership in the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union, along with the ongoing presence of a Russian military base in the country, present additional complications. 

The EU’s move to launch the visa-liberalization process came shortly after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan began to question Brussels’ commitment to reciprocating his government’s overtures to the West. Pashinyan has steered Armenia Westward since Azerbaijan took full control of Nagorno-Karabakh in the fall of 2023. Armenia’s strategic partnership with Russia crumbled quickly after that, as many Armenians felt that the Kremlin failed to uphold security guarantees to assist Armenia during the Second Karabakh War.

Pashinyan this spring began hinting at Armenia’s interest in pursuing EU accession possibilities. In May, he quipped that Yerevan might even apply for EU membership “this year.” But in early July, Pashinyan toned down his rhetoric, downplaying the notion of holding a national referendum of EU accession at this time, and wondering aloud whether the EU was ready to accept expansion into the South Caucasus. “Now how ready is the EU?’ Can I answer that question today? No, I can’t,” Pashinyan told members of parliament.

The EU’s visa-liberalization announcement signals that Brussels is interested in deepening its engagement with Armenia.

Meanwhile, news of the EU’s extension of non-lethal military aid to Armenia drew an icy response from Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry called the EU’s decision “wrong and dangerous,” adding that it heightened regional tension. Peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan currently appear stalled.