Visa liberalization with the EU now depends more on Armenia - Mirzoyan

ArmInfo. Visa liberalization with the EU today depends more on Armenia than on the European side, according to Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.

On October 28, at a joint press conference with his Slovenian counterpart, Tone Kaiser, Mirzoyan responded to a question about the possible timeframe for visa liberalization for Armenia, and whether, for example, the violations during the parliamentary elections documented in the PACE report could impact this process. Mirzoyan stated that the final conclusion of the report states that the elections met high European and international standards.

He added that if legal measures are being taken against those suspected of paying electoral bribes, then Armenia, as a state governed by the rule of law, is obliged to act in this direction. "I'm glad to see that law enforcement is taking and will continue to take steps in this direction," he said.

Regarding visa liberalization, the Armenian official continued, the process has been progressing fairly quickly so far, and there has been support from the EU and European partners.

"To be honest, now is the stage where further progress depends on Armenia itself. If you're asking about specific deadlines, we need to explain to our society that progress depends on us, on legislative reforms and technical processes. That is, the faster we work, the faster we will achieve, I hope, a positive result," Mirzoyan concluded.

As a reminder, visa liberalization negotiations between Armenia and the European Union began in December 2024. The negotiations were led by Armenian Interior Minister Arpine Sargsyan and Johannes Lüchner, Deputy Director-General for Migration and Home Affairs of the European Commission. Key areas of cooperation included reforms in key areas crucial to achieving visa-free travel with the EU. These areas include document security, border and migration management, mobility and asylum policy, the fight against corruption and organized crime, and the protection of citizens' fundamental rights. The parties then mutually confirmed that the process had no deadline for completing negotiations. On November 5, the EU submitted a visa liberalization action plan to Armenia.