EU approves second civilian mission to Armenia 

ArmInfo. Today,  EU ambassadors  approved  a decision to send a new civilian mission to Armenia in Brussels, as reported by the RFE/RL's Armenian service, emphasizing that this decision paves the way for final approval,  which is expected to take place at a meeting of EU foreign ministers  next week.

The source writes that it has at its disposal a proposal from the EU  High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy regarding  the mandate, structure, and duration of this new mission. According  to the document, the mission will strengthen Armenia's resilience to  hybrid threats by providing strategic and practical advice and  support to the country's ministries and security agencies. "These  consultations will focus on policy development, detection, and  response to external information manipulation, cyberattacks, as well  as illicit financial flows. The mission will also assess what is  needed to develop Armenia's security capabilities so that it can  better identify and respond to hybrid threats in line with EU  methodologies and standards," the publication continues.

Earlier, in a document justifying the need for the mission, the EU  Foreign Office stated that the upcoming parliamentary elections in  Armenia in June, subsequent local elections, and a possible  constitutional referendum will be a decisive test not only for  domestic stability but also for regional peace. "Several years ago,  Baku criticized the decision to deploy unarmed European observers on  its border with Armenia and ultimately achieved its goal, clearly  stipulating in the peace treaty with Armenia that no third-party  forces would be deployed on the common border. Now, by sending a new  mission to Armenia, Brussels emphasizes that its goal is to 'reduce  and neutralize Russia's destabilizing actions,'" the source writes.

Recall, Radio Liberty previously reported that it had a letter from  Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan to Brussels at its  disposal, in which he "requested the deployment of a rapid response  team to Yerevan to counter Kremlin disinformation and Russian  interference in the Armenian parliamentary elections, and then,  possibly, a more permanent civilian mission." In this regard, it was  recalled that the EU sent a similar team of approximately 20 people  to Chisinau during last year's parliamentary elections "to help  Moldovan authorities identify and counter disinformation emanating  from Russia on social media." It should be added that the EU's top  diplomat, Kaja Kallas, previously announced the allocation of 15  million euros to Armenia to "counter Russian propaganda."