The summit is a milestone in Armenia’s cooperation with its European partners, as Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote in his letter of invitation. It underlines “our strong and unwavering commitment to democratic values and the rule of law”.
The 8th meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) will take place in Yerevan on Monday under the motto “Shaping the future: Security and Stability in Europe”. The EPC comprises all European states including those of the South Caucasus – Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan – but not Russia and Belarus.
The heads of the European Union (EU), the Council of Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) have also been invited. For the first time, a non-European, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, will be attending the meeting as a guest, as the European Council recently announced.
President Parmelin travels to the meeting
Switzerland is represented at EPG meetings by the President of the Swiss Confederation. This year it is Guy Parmelin. The President of the Swiss Confederation will take part in an exchange on economic security, his Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER) wrote in a press release on Thursday.
He will also take the opportunity to hold bilateral talks. A meeting with Taoiseach Micheal Martin – as the head of government in Ireland is known – is planned in view of Ireland’s presidency of the EU Council. Ireland will take over the rotating presidency of the EU Council on July 1 and until the end of the year. Parmelin will also exchange views with Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Yerevan wavers between Brussels and Moscow
National Councillor Stefan Müller-Altermatt (center/AG) sees the EPG meeting in Yerevan as a rapprochement with Europe. “The government is moving at speed towards the West and away from Russia,” said the Co-President of the Swiss-Armenian Association in an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency. However, this is a risky game, as Armenia’s largest economic partner is by far Russia.
Like Russia and three other former republics of the Soviet Union, Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). According to the latest figures from the World Trade Organization (WTO) for 2022, Russia was Armenia’s most important trading partner in terms of both exports and imports. The EU is listed in second place.
“Europe is more of a political vision for Armenia. But it is integrated by Russia,” said Ansgar Jödicke, a social scientist at the University of Freiburg with a research focus on the South Caucasus, when asked. Yerevan receives cheap energy from Russia, which Europe cannot offer.
Armenia votes in June
According to Jödicke, joining the EU is not realistic and he describes the rapprochement with the EU as a domestic political message from the current government. “Society and politics are very polarized between pro-European and pro-Russian positions.”
Parliamentary elections will be held in Armenia on June 7. “Pashinyan portrays all of his opponents as Russia-friendly,” continued Jödicke, who described the upcoming elections as “very open”.
The elections were a topic of discussion at a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Armenian Prime Minister in Moscow at the beginning of April. Putin also said that it was “simply impossible” to be a member of the EU Customs Union and the EAEU, according to the minutes of the meeting published by the Armenian Prime Minister.
Relations with Brussels will be the focus of an EU-Armenia summit in Yerevan on Tuesday. The EU leaders – the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa – will then meet with Pashinyan. According to the European Council, the aim is to further strengthen bilateral relations.
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