Politician on Armenia`s EU accession: What`s point of continuing  decades-long process of joining union whose with uncertain and  unpromising future?

ArmInfo. Iceland, through a referendum, rejected resuming accession negotiations with the  European Union (EU). Indeed, what's the point of continuing a  decades- long process of joining a union whose future now looks  uncertain and unpromising? This was written on his Facebook page by  Artak Zakaryan, a member of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), in  light of Armenia's current choice between the EU and the Eurasian  Economic Union (EAEU).

On August 30, it was announced that, 13 years after the end of  accession negotiations with the European Union, Iceland voted against  resuming them. State broadcaster RUV reported that 52.8% of 225,031  voters rejected the government's proposal to resume EU accession  negotiations, while 47.2% voted in favor. The difference was  approximately 12,600 votes.

In this regard, the Armenian politician noted that the majority of  Icelanders voted against resuming accession negotiations. According  to him, 52.8% voted against. "Icelanders are smart people - 52.8% of  them voted against. And really, what's the point of continuing the  decades-long process of joining a union whose future now looks  uncertain and hopeless?" the RPA member noted.

In this vein, he recalled that Iceland applied to join the EU back in  2009, following the financial and economic crisis, but negotiations  were suspended in 2013 and then completely halted in 2015," Zakaryan  recalled.

As a reminder, on January 9, 2025, the Armenian government approved a  draft law on the initiation of the EU accession process, proposed by  the "Eurakve" civic initiative. The draft was sent to the Armenian  parliament for approval. On March 26, the parliament adopted it in  its final reading and sent it to the president for signature. The  document was signed on April 4 of that year. Moscow stated that  Russia had conveyed to Armenia that simultaneous membership in the  Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union was impossible.

On August 24, 2026, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced  from the parliamentary rostrum that the country intends to apply for  EU membership in the near future. He also expressed his conviction  that That the Republic would be required to hold a referendum on its  membership in the EU or the EAEU only after submitting an application  for EU membership and receiving a response. On August 28, it was  announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime  Minister Nikol Pashinyan would meet on the sidelines of the Shanghai  Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Kyrgyzstan to discuss  Yerevan's aspirations for EU membership.