Armenia intends to formally apply to join the European Union in 2027 or 2028, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on November 5, as the South Caucasus country seeks closer ties with the West while stopping short of an immediate break with Russian-led economic structures.
Speaking at a news conference in Yerevan, Pashinyan said the government was preparing alternative options for the country but had not started the process of withdrawing from the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), a trade bloc led by Russia.
“We are not planning to leave the EAEU,” he said, adding that Armenians should have the opportunity to choose the country’s future direction.
“It is clear to me that this process will lead to us officially submitting an application in 2027 or 2028 to begin the process of becoming a full member of the European Union,” he said, according to Armenpress.
Pashinyan said there were currently no grounds for holding a referendum on leaving the EAEU and joining the EU, adding that certain procedures would have to be completed first.
His comments followed similar remarks in Brussels on November 3, when he said Armenia could apply to join the bloc in 2027 or 2028.
Armenia adopted legislation in April 2025 launching a process towards EU membership, although this did not constitute a formal application. The European Commission’s latest enlargement report, published on November 4, set out accelerated accession targets for several candidate countries, including Albania, Moldova, Montenegro and Ukraine, but did not give Armenia a comparable timetable for membership negotiations.
Pashinyan also reiterated his government’s disillusionment with the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Moscow-led military alliance from which Armenia has frozen its participation.
“Our interest in the CSTO has run its course, and we have no interest in the CSTO,” he said.
His comments came ahead of a November 11 CSTO meeting, amid reports that the organisation could remove Armenia’s voting rights.
Yerevan’s relations with Moscow have deteriorated since Azerbaijan’s military operations in 2020 and 2023 resulted in the loss of Armenian control over Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia has repeatedly criticised Russia for failing to provide adequate support during its confrontations with Azerbaijan.
The shift towards the West has prompted warnings from Moscow, which has argued that EU and EAEU membership are incompatible. Russia has also imposed restrictions on some Armenian agricultural exports and raised the prospect of changes to preferential energy supplies.
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