ArmInfo.On August 31, the Government of Armenia approved the proposal to sign the "Agreement between the Republic of Armenia and the European Union on the status of the European Union Mission (EUMA) in Armenia".
As the explanation to the document says, back in 2022, at the request of the Armenian side, the EU Council made an unprecedentedly urgent decision to deploy an EU civil minotoring mission on the international border of Armenia and Azerbaijan for a period of two months. The latter was deployed along the eastern border of Armenia from October 20 to December 19, 2022, which significantly contributed to the relative stabilization of the border situation.
Taking into account the security risks posed to Armenia and the significant risk of further escalation of the situation on the eastern borders of the country, the Armenian side appealed to the European Union with a request to extend the duration of the above-mentioned monitoring mission. However, based on the fact that the composition of the mission in question was formed from members of the EU mission in Georgia, and with such a composition, the duration of the mission could only be extended for another two months, the EU side took the initiative to create a civilian observation mission exclusively for Armenia. The latter was not only welcomed by the Armenian authorities, but the Armenian side made significant efforts to enlist the support of all EU member states in creating a long-term mission, the document reads.
On February 20, 2023, the European Union launched the EU civilian mission in Armenia (EU Mission in Armenia / EUMA) under its Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).
The EUMA is a neutral and non-executive mission, which will have a two-year mandate, and was formally established by the European Council decision on 23 January 2023.
The Mission will be deployed on the Armenian side of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border and will contribute to stability in the border areas of Armenia, build confidence and human security in conflict affected areas, and ensure an environment conducive to the normalisation efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan supported by the EU.
The total - exclusively civilian - staff of the EUMA will be approximately one hundred persons, including around fifty unarmed observers.
The Operational Headquarters of the mission will be in Yeghegnadzor, in Armenia's Vayots Dzor province. EEAS Managing Director of Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC) Stefano Tomat will serve as the Civilian Operation Commander, while Markus Ritter will serve as the Head of Mission.