European Parliament passes resolution proposing consideration of EU membership candidacy for Armenia
Wednesday, March 13, 2024At the session of the European Parliament, a resolution on closer ties between the EU and Armenia and the need for a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia was put to the vote, this has been mentioned in the draft resolution published by the European Parliament.
The resolution authored by the European People's Party group is submitted as a joint initiative of all groups in the European Parliament.
In the draft of the resolution, the MEPs propose to consider the possibility of granting Armenia the status of a candidate for EU membership.
“should Armenia be interested in applying for candidate status and continuing on its path of sustained reforms consolidating its democracy, this could set the stage for a transformative phase in EU-Armenia relations,’’ reads the draft joint resolution of the members of the EU’s legislative body.
The draft emphasizes that EU-Armenia relations are based on such common values as democracy, rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms.
"The Republic of Armenia is ready to be as close to the European Union as the EU considers possible," the resolution quotes the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's address to the European Parliament on October 17, 2023.
The proposed resolution also refers to the events that took place in Nagorno-Karabakh in September of last year.
“ On 19 September 2023, after a nine month illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor, disregarding its commitments included in the November 2020 ceasefire agreement and International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling, Azerbaijan launched an offensive on the remaining parts of the Nagorno-Karabakh not already under its control; whereas more than 100 000 Armenians had to flee the territory, resulting in NagornoKarabakh being almost entirely deprived of its Armenian population, who had been living there for centuries,’’ the draft reads.
The resolution of the European Parliament also mentions about the continuous threats of the Azerbaijani leadership against the territorial integrity of Armenia.
“The Azerbaijani army continues to occupy approximately 170 km2 of the sovereign territory of Armenia.”
In their proposed resolution, the MEPs call on the executive bodies of the European Union, the Commission and the Council to actively support Armenia in expanding cooperation with the European Union, which includes not only economic partnership, but also political dialogue, security, relations between people and other countries.