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Pashinyan says Armenia will apply for EU membership before any referendum

Yerevan, ArmeniaPublished 26 Aug 2026

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan

Daniel Torok / The White House (public domain) · source

The prime minister told parliament the bid would come in the near future, then a Brussels reply and roadmap, and only then a vote. Moscow is pressing for an EU-or-EAEU referendum by year-end and has restricted Armenian farm exports.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told Armenia's parliament on August 24 that Yerevan will begin the work of a formal EU membership application in the near future, and that a referendum should wait until after an application, an EU response and a roadmap. The other Eurasian Economic Union members called in May for a vote on EU accession versus remaining in the Moscow-led bloc; Russia has restricted Armenian farm exports and warned the two memberships are incompatible. Pashinyan said he would be glad if the CSTO expelled Armenia. No application date has been set.

Shared facts

Pashinyan said Armenia will begin the process of applying for EU membership in the near future.

Pashinyan said Armenia must submit a formal EU membership application before holding a referendum.

Pashinyan said the sequence would be an application, an EU response, a roadmap, then a referendum.

Pashinyan said a nationwide referendum on EU membership will take place in Armenia.

Pashinyan said a referendum makes sense only after the accession process reaches a milestone with a realistic roadmap.

No date has been fixed for the EU membership application.

Pashinyan made the remarks on August 24 while presenting the government's five-year program to parliament in Yerevan.

Armenia's parliament adopted a law in March 2025 launching the process of EU accession.

Armenia has not applied for EU membership and does not hold candidate status.

Pashinyan said Armenia would begin the application process especially to heed calls from EAEU partners.

On May 29 the other four EAEU leaders called for a nationwide Armenian referendum on EU accession or remaining in the EAEU.

Putin first called for such a referendum after European summits in Yerevan in early May.

Russia banned imports of Armenian agricultural products in late May and early June.

Pashinyan said the Russian export restrictions contradict EAEU regulations.

Pashinyan called the restrictions a crisis for the EAEU.

Officials in Yerevan and Brussels have called the Russian import measures politically driven.

The restrictions hit almost all of Armenia's agro-food exports, long shipped almost exclusively to Russia.

The Kremlin has warned that membership of both Western and Russian blocs is incompatible.

Peskov said the trade, sanitary and customs rules of the two blocs did not match.

Armenia is a member of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation, with participation now frozen or suspended.

Pashinyan said he would be glad if the CSTO expelled Armenia, freeing it from the dilemma of whether to leave.

Peskov said if Yerevan no longer needs CSTO membership it is free to leave the organisation.

Pashinyan said for two centuries Armenian-Russian relations treated Russia as the guarantor of Armenian security.

Pashinyan said the 2021–2023 wars with Azerbaijan showed Russia can face significant limits in performing that security role.

Putin warned Armenia with a Ukrainian scenario, saying Ukraine's crisis began with Kyiv's EU ambitions.

Russia keeps a military base in Armenia and remains a principal energy supplier.

Peskov pointed to Turkey's decades-old EU application as evidence that accession is not a near-term prospect.

Euronews

Armenia announces historic intention to apply for EU membership

Peter Barabas and Aleksandar Brezar

Published 25 Aug 2026 accessed 25 Aug 2026

Facts

CSTO members recently gave Armenia an ultimatum to choose the alliance or an EU path via referendum.

Pashinyan said Armenia would remain in the CSTO for now until the choice becomes unavoidable.

At the time Pashinyan said it was premature to make such a decision.

Peskov said Armenia's CSTO departure may trigger deep trade contradictions that would primarily harm Armenia.

Pashinyan asked Moscow to give up its Armenian railways monopoly concession that runs until 2038.

The Karabakh wars later ended in a peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Armenia's economy still relies on Russian energy and infrastructure.

The two countries are pursuing economic cooperation with significant EU and US participation.

Opinion

Euronews framed the move as challenging Russia's influence and a historic geopolitical shift.

Euronews called it a historic shift for a country formerly in Russia's orbit.

Euronews described the sequence as a calculated set of political moves.

Pashinyan said Armenians failed to learn the lessons of their history on Russia's role.

He has pointed at the Kremlin for giving up on Armenia in the last confrontation with Azerbaijan.

Euronews said the Kremlin was setting the stage for a turbulent path with its former ally.

Armenpress

Armenia to begin process of applying for EU membership, Pashinyan says

Published 24 Aug 2026 accessed 25 Aug 2026

Facts

He said Armenia has begun organizing discussions on the issue inside the EAEU.

Pashinyan called the statement a friendly gesture he highly appreciated.

Pashinyan said the issue is timing, which is substantive as well as organizational.

Opinion

No opinion marked.

Azatutyun (RFE/RL)

Pashinian Vows To Step Up EU Membership Efforts

Published 24 Aug 2026 accessed 25 Aug 2026

Facts

Pashinian indicated he is still in no rush to hold a referendum on the EU or remaining in the Russian-led trade bloc.

Pashinian boycotted the May 29 summit.

A senior Russian diplomat said Armenia should call the referendum by December or risk losing EEU membership.

Pashinian initially scoffed at the move.

Russian officials have threatened higher gas prices and curbs on Russian tourists to Armenia.

Pashinian implied Armenia cannot be kicked out of the bloc without its consent.

The EU provided 52 million euros in urgent aid and promised to open its market to Armenian products.

Pashinian said the government needs time to see the practical impact of that EU assistance.

No EU member state or institution has voiced explicit support for Armenian membership so far.

They say the EU will not admit Armenia in the foreseeable future.

Russia is Armenia's number-one trading partner.

Russia accounted for 28% of Armenian foreign trade in the first five months, the EU 16.7%.

Opinion

Opposition leaders call the EU drive reckless.

CivilNet

Armenia to apply for EU membership 'soon,' says Pashinyan

Alexander Pracht

Published 24 Aug 2026 accessed 25 Aug 2026

Facts

He said that would ask Armenians to choose between two options, one of which does not exist.

Mikhail Galuzin said Armenia should announce the referendum by the end of this year.

Pashinyan said EAEU free-movement principles are not fully implemented in practice.

At the same summit he sharply criticized the EAEU for failing to live up to its principles.

Kos said a country applying must be a sovereign state and in Europe.

Kos said Armenia is European.

Kos said 23 of 27 EU members are supportive of enlargement.

The EU last admitted a new member in 2013, when Croatia joined.

Kos said the EU was reluctant to admit new members for about a decade after Croatia, but that has changed.

The path from a formal application takes nine years on average and can take 14, as with Malta and Cyprus.

Joining the EU requires the Copenhagen criteria.

Current candidates include Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Albania and remaining former Yugoslav countries.

Candidate countries make those adjustments through negotiations with Brussels.

Opinion

He said it would be disrespectful to the Armenian people.

She said expansion is about peace, freedom and prosperity, not square kilometers or people.

OC Media

Armenia to submit official EU membership application 'in near future', Pashinyan says

Ani Ghulinyan

Published 24 Aug 2026 accessed 25 Aug 2026

Facts

It also refers to visa-liberalisation talks with the EU by 2029.

The EU pivot comes after growing differences with Moscow and EAEU trade disruptions.

EAEU officials have warned EU accession is incompatible with the bloc and would risk Russian-market access.

Pashinyan said going back to the CSTO was not in the five-year plan.

He said Armenia is diversifying partnerships while pursuing peace with Azerbaijan and normalisation with Turkey.

Armenian officials have argued adopting European standards will strengthen the domestic economy.

Peskov said Moscow has not received official notification of a formal CSTO exit.

A 2026 poll found 72% describe EU-Armenia relations as good and 56% trusted the EU.

Support for EU membership reached 54%, and 63% said membership would offer more advantages than disadvantages.

Opinion

Pashinyan described the pivot as a natural process due to regional dynamics rather than anti-Russian sentiment.

Brussels Signal

Pashinyan says Armenia could lodge EU membership bid in the near future

Published 24 Aug 2026 accessed 25 Aug 2026

Facts

The government has said that law does not amount to a formal bid.

Putin used a July 27 call to urge a referendum as soon as possible on the EU or the EAEU.

Rosselkhoznadzor has restricted Armenian goods since spring, barring almost all plant products from June 12.

On May 29 in Astana the other EAEU leaders warned Armenian EU accession preparations risked the bloc's economic security.

Russia recalled its ambassador from Yerevan days later.

Von der Leyen opened the EU market to most Armenian exports on July 2.

Civil Contract won 49.8% and 64 of 105 seats in the June 7 election.

None of the steps Pashinyan set out has yet begun.

The EU held its first summit with Armenia in Yerevan on May 5.

The four other EAEU governments are due to report in December on suspending the treaty toward Armenia.

Opinion

No opinion marked.

Daily Sabah

Armenia may start EU accession bid in 'near future': PM Pashinyan

Agence France-Presse

Published 24 Aug 2026 accessed 25 Aug 2026

Facts

Armenia is formally allied with Moscow but has been building EU ties for years.

Turkey has been waiting to join the EU for nearly 40 years.

He was re-elected in June after hosting EU leaders and Zelenskyy for a summit.

Pashinyan rose to power through street protests in 2018.

Opinion

No opinion marked.