The European Union (EU) is the key partner supporting the fundamental reforms of the Armenian government in recent years. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said this during his address Tuesday at the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

“In this context, I consider it necessary to emphasize the importance of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, which is one of the pillars of our reform agenda and is in the stage of active implementation.

“Since February of this year, the long-term civilian mission of the European Union has been operating in Armenia, which monitors the security situation along the state border of Armenia with Azerbaijan. This is a key event through which the European Union got involved in Armenia's security agenda for the first time, the foundation of which was laid during the quadrilateral meeting in Prague on October 6, 2022.

“Among the reforms aimed at strengthening democracy, with the support of the EU, we are implementing police reforms and this month, in just two weeks, we will complete the establishment of a completely new patrol police in Armenia. We expect the continuation of cooperation in the reforms of police and rescue service, independent judicial system, education, and public administration.

“The agenda of our relations with the European Union is actually very extensive. It is extremely important to give new momentum and volume to the programs implemented under the EU Economic and Investment Plan, the important goals of which are stable and balanced economic development, infrastructure modernization, digitalization and technological development, as well as increasing the resilience of the southern regions of Armenia. The latter is particularly important in the context of both the country's continuous development and the establishment of sustainable peace in the region. Within the framework of the Plan, projects worth more than 400 million euros have already been launched, implemented with various financial instruments, of which around 270 million euros are for access of SME to finance, around 34 million euros are for technological development, around 43 million euros are for increasing the resilience of Syunik, and around 62 million euros are for the green development of Yerevan.

“I am happy to emphasize that this is not all. On October 5 of this year, two extremely important documents for EU-Armenia relations were adopted in Granada. One of them is the quadrilateral statement of [European Council] President Michel, [French] President Macron, [German] Chancellor Scholz and myself, the other is the bilateral statement of [European Commission] President von der Leyen and myself.

“Both statements support the strengthening of EU-Armenia relations in all dimensions based on the needs of the Republic of Armenia. We are committed to further strengthen EU-Armenia relations. In the long term, the European Union and Armenia are determined to strengthen their economic ties by working to unlock the full potential of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement.

“Based on all this, dear attendees, I can clearly and confidently state. The Republic of Armenia is ready to be closer to the European Union, as much as the European Union considers it possible. Our joint statement with President von der Leyen reads: "In these difficult times, the EU and Armenia stand shoulder to shoulder."

“Let us continue to stand shoulder to shoulder in our commitment to make the times better. As I said, I am convinced that democracy can provide peace, security, unity, prosperity and happiness. Let's prove this together. Long live democracy! Thank you,” the Armenian PM added.