EU Weighs Additional Military Aid for Armenia

BRUSSELS – The European Union is considering allocating an additional €10 million ($10.5 million) in “non-lethal” military aid to Armenia through its European Peace Facility (EPF), a special fund designed to strengthen the defense capacities of EU partners.

According to sources from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) in Brussels, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, has submitted a proposal to the bloc’s decision-making Council.

The proposal is expected to be discussed in the coming weeks, though a specific date has not yet been set. For approval, it must receive unanimous support from all 27 EU member states.

Armenia received its first-ever EU military aid package—also worth €10 million—last July. The funds were designated for a two-and-a-half-year period to establish a field hospital and auxiliary facilities for a battalion-sized Armenian army unit.

Hungary initially blocked that allocation for months, demanding that similar aid be provided to Azerbaijan, with which it maintains close ties. Budapest reportedly lifted its veto in exchange for an EU commitment to finance demining activities in Azerbaijan through a separate source.

It remains unclear whether Hungary or any other member state will object to the new proposal.

Earlier this year, EU member states approved Kallas’s proposal to extend the EU’s monitoring mission along Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan by two years. The mission—strongly opposed by Azerbaijan and Russia—was launched in February 2023 to prevent or minimize ceasefire violations.