In 2025, a law was adopted in Armenia on the launch of the process of becoming a member of the European Union (EU), and the strategic goal of adopting such a law is to create an alternative for Armenia, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated at the meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council, in Kyrgyzstan on Friday.

Axar.az informs, citing Armenian media, Pashinyan stated that Armenia understands that simultaneous membership in the Eurasian Economic Union [(EAEU)] and the European Union is not possible, but the fact of adopting the mentioned law does not mean that the country has the opportunity to become an EU member today.

When Armenia is qualitatively ready for EU membership in the future, this will also not mean that our country will automatically become an EU member. For this, the consent of the EU member states and the approval of the citizens of Armenia will still be necessary.

On the other hand, it is obvious that it is impossible to submit this issue to the decision of the citizens of Armenia without preliminary institutional preparatory work. And even after that, it will be necessary to apply to the EU with an official application for membership in the European Union, and then receive the status of a candidate country for membership in the EU.

Holding a referendum [in Armenia] on the noted matter without going through at least most of the listed phases will be pointless and will mean that we expect our citizens to answer a question that simply does not exist at the moment. It will mean that we expect the citizens of Armenia to choose between two alternatives, one of which does not exist. This will be a disrespect towards our people and practically illegitimate.

I am grateful to my colleagues for recognizing Armenia’s legitimate right to develop relations with various partners and create trade and economic alternatives for its country. Moreover, I consider such an approach useful for the EAEU, since the existence of possible alternatives is a factor that will contribute to the development of the competitiveness and appeal of the EAEU. I think no one will deny that there is something to work on within the EAEU in this sense. We [i.e. Armenia] are ready and offer to work on it.

On the other hand, I must note that in the current relations between Armenia and the European Union there are no legal, economic or political obligations that would contradict the status of our relations within and around the EAEU.