EU Set to Provide Non-Lethal Assistance to Armenia

BRUSSELS — A preliminary agreement has been reached in Brussels on providing non-lethal assistance to Armenia from the European Peace Facility (EPF), a diplomatic document that RFE/RL’s Armenian Service has got hold of suggests.

The document shows that the European Union plans to allocate 10 million euros (about $10.6 million) to Armenia as part of an assistance measure that will have a duration of 30 months from the date of the adoption of the decision.

According to the document, the assistance measure will finance the establishment of a mobile field camp capability for a battalion-size unit, including a medical treatment facility as well as relevant services and facilities.

“The objective of the assistance measure is to contribute to strengthening the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia’s capabilities to enhance national security, stability and resilience in the defense sector,” the document reads.

“The assistance measure aims to allow the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia to enhance operational effectiveness, accelerate compliance with Union standards and interoperability, and thereby better protect civilians in crises and emergencies,” it adds.

The EPF was established in 2021 to provide funds for the purchase of non-lethal weapons or capabilities to promote peace, prevent conflict, and strengthen international security around the world.

Among the countries that have received assistance from the EPF in previous years are Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova, all of which are seeking membership in the European Union.

Application for EU membership is not a mandatory condition for receiving EPF funding. In addition to the three post-Soviet countries, a number of African countries, including Congo, Benin, and Ghana, have also availed themselves of the EPF funding.

Armenia submitted an application for funding from the EPF in 2023. During her visit to Armenia last October then French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said that she had personally applied to the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy on this issue.

“I have officially written to the EU’s High Representative Josep Borrell, proposing to include Armenia in the European Peace Facility, as, for example, it is implemented for Moldova,” the French official said.

In an interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian Service earlier this month Peter Stano, lead spokesperson for the EU’s Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, confirmed that discussions on possible support to Armenia under the EPF were ongoing, but said that security policy is a “strictly member state-controlled area where any decision needs to be agreed by unanimity of all the member states.”

RFE/RL’s Armenian Service has learned that there is such an agreement at the moment, and that its draft will be submitted for final approval in the coming weeks.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Brussels on April 5 for discussions said to be focused on helping Armenia increase its resilience and diversify its economy, which is still heavily dependent on Russia. No reference to security assistance to Armenia, including non-lethal aid, was made by the Western leaders in their statements for the press then.