EU explains goals of sending a Monitoring Capacity to Armenia

ArmInfo. Following the decision by the European Union to deploy monitoring experts along the Armenian side of the international border with Azerbaijan, on 20  October, the EU Monitoring Capacity in Armenia became operational.  Here are some facts about the mission, according to an official  report. 

Why is the EU sending a Monitoring Capacity to Armenia?

The EU Monitoring Capacity responds to the agreement reached at the  quadrilateral meeting between President Aliyev, Prime Minister  Pashinyan, French President Macron and President of the European  Council Michel. Upon proposal of the High Representative Josep  Borrell,  the decision on the setting up of the EU Monitoring  Capacity was taken at the Foreign Affairs Council on 17 October. The  first EU monitors are operational on the ground as of 20 October. The  mission's mandate is to monitor the situation in the border regions  between Armenia and Azerbaijan in order to support confidence  building between the two countries and allow the EU to better support  the work of the border commissions.

What exactly is the EU Monitoring Capacity going to do in Armenia?

The EU Monitoring Capacity to Armenia will carry out two core tasks:

1) support confidence-building between Armenia and Azerbaijan by  monitoring the adherence of both parties to the ceasefire;

2) through regular and ad-hoc reporting on military posture and  ceasefire related developments on the ground, the EU team will  monitor the situation in the border regions between Armenia and  Azerbaijan. This will allow the EU to better support the work of the  two parties' border commissions.

Where exactly will the Monitoring Capacity be deployed?

The area of responsibility (AoR) will be the Armenian side of the  internationally recognised border between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Is the EU Monitoring Capacity a military mission?

No. Only civilian monitors will be deployed.

What does the EU Monitoring Capacity consist of?

It consists of up to 40 EU civilian monitoring experts which will be  deployed for a period of two months.

Will there be a similar EU Monitoring Capacity deployed to  Azerbaijan?

No. The EU Monitoring Capacity will be deployed on the Armenian side  of the internationally recognised border between Armenia and  Azerbaijan. The main aim is to support confidence-building between  the two countries by monitoring their adherence to the ceasefire.

What was the role of the technical assessment mission which arrived  in Armenia on 14 October?

The technical assessment mission of EU experts in Armenia intended to  pave the way for the deployment of the EU Monitoring Capacity in the  country. Its role was to gather necessary information, conduct an  assessment on the ground and establish liaison with relevant  stakeholders.

What is the role of EUMM Georgia in the deployment of the EU  Monitoring Capacity in Armenia?

In order to ensure a swift deployment of the EU Monitoring capacity,  EU monitoring experts from the European Union Monitoring Mission in  Georgia (EUMM Georgia) are being deployed..The EUMM is taking  operational steps so that its monitoring capacity in Georgia is not  impacted. EUMM will continue to carry out its activities in Georgia  in all lines of operation. This includes a 24/7, 365 days a year  monitoring presence along the Administrative Boundary Lines, to  ensure stability in Georgia and the wider region.  EUMM Georgia  remains dedicated to fully implement its mandate.

What will the EU Monitoring Capacity between Armenia and Azerbaijan  be monitoring?

The EU Monitoring Capacity in Armenia will report on military posture  and ceasefire related developments in the border regions between  Armenia and Azerbaijan. This will allow the EU to better support the  work of the two parties' border commissions. The EU monitors will  also provide observations of events taking place along the bilateral  border, including human rights related developments. They will not  have an investigative role.

Will the EU Monitoring Capacity make conclusions about which side  started the escalation on 13 September and give recommendations about  steps to take to prevent future escalations?

The EU Monitoring Capacity will report back to the relevant EU  institutions and services about its observations along the bilateral  border. It will not assume an arbitrary role or draw conclusions of a  political nature on the basis of its findings.

Are the EU Monitoring Capacity and the OSCE assessment mission  cooperating?

These are two separate missions with two different mandates. The EU  Monitoring Capacity will liaise with all relevant international  organizations, including the OSCE. There is no overlap between the EU  Monitoring Capacity and the efforts deployed by the OSCE.

Is the EU Monitoring Capacity the only way the EU is supporting the  de-escalation between Armenia and Azerbaijan?

Based on the agreement by Armenia and Azerbaijan, the EU is closely  involved in leading a peace process between both sides. To date,  President of the European Council (PEC) Charles Michel has hosted  four trilateral leaders' meetings in Brussels between and the  Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders in the past year.  The first of  these was held on 14 December 2021, which resulted in Azerbaijan's  release of 10 Armenian prisoners, as well as agreements on a way  forward in working towards a peace process. Subsequent meetings took  place on 6 April 2022, 22 May 2022 and 31 August 2022. High  Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security  Policy/Vice President Josep Borrell has also been engaged through  regular contact with the Foreign Ministers of both sides. Meetings  have also taken place between Armenia's Security Council Secretary  Grigoryan and Azerbaijan's Presidential Adviser Hajiyev, hosted in  Brussels by EU Special Representative (EUSR) Klaar and PEC Adviser  Grono. EUSR Klaar has also held frequent in person consultations with  the leaderships of both sides, in line with his mandate and with  tasking received from HRVP Borrell.