The European Union Planning Assistance Team in Armenia was a

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

initiative established to assess the potential of deploying a long-term civilian CSDP mission to

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

. It replaced the European Union Monitoring Capacity to Armenia, which concluded its mandate on 19 December 2022 and was superseded by a longer term mission, the

European Union Mission in Armenia The European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA) is a European Union Common Security and Defence Policy civilian deployment on the territory of the Republic of Armenia. History The mission was announced on 23 January 2023 to build upon the work ...

on 23 January 2023.

History

The European Union Monitoring Capacity to Armenia (EUMCAP) was a European Union civilian deployment in Armenia that was agreed on 6 October 2022 and officially became operational on 20 October 2022. EUMCAP was deployed in order to monitor the Armenia–Azerbaijan border following the Armenia–Azerbaijan border crisis. EUMCAP completed its mandate on 19 December 2022 at which point it was superseded by the European Union Planning Assistance Team in Armenia in preparation of a possible longer term mission in the country. Following the conclusion of EUMCAP's mandate, the

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, the President of the E ...

and the

Government of Armenia A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, Executive (government), e ...

agreed that the

European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia The European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM Georgia) is an unarmed Peacekeeping, peacekeeping mission operated by the European Union in Georgia (country), Georgia. EUMM was conceived in September 2008 following the EU-mediated ceasefir ...

(EUMM Georgia) would deploy its personnel to serve in the European Union Transitional Planning Assistance Team in Armenia. The mandate of the EU Transitional Planning Assistance Team in Armenia became active on 20 December 2022. On 19 January 2023, the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

voted in favor of a resolution condemning Azerbaijani military aggression and for the closure of the Lachin corridor, resulting in the blockade of Artsakh. The motion supports greater EU involvement towards settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and for Russian peacekeepers to be replaced by international ones.

Nathalie Loiseau Nathalie Loiseau (born 1 June 1964) is a French politician, diplomat and academic administrator who has served as a Member of European Parliament since 2019. Previously she was director of the École nationale d'administration (ENA) from 2012 t ...

, a member of the European Parliament stated, "Russia is not a reliable actor in the region anymore" and "Moscow's influence is waning since its catastrophic

invasion of Ukraine The territory of present-day Ukraine has been Invasion, invaded or Military occupation, occupied a number of times throughout History of Ukraine, its history. List See also *List of invasions *List of wars involving Ukraine References

...

." Several protests have occurred in Armenia and Artsakh demanding Armenia's withdrawal from the

CSTO The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is an intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia consisting of six post-Soviet states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. The Collective Security Treaty has ...

and to seek greater support from the West instead. The European External Action Service announced that there are plans to potentially send 100 EU monitors to Armenia for a period of 2 years. Henri Duquenne, the spokesman for the EU's special representative in the South Caucasus stated, "It's important the EU plays a role even on the edges of Europe. Different member states have different interests, but as a whole, this is a priority region for us." In response,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated, "Despite the fact we are allies, the Armenian side prefers to negotiate with the EU."

Mandate

The stated aim of the EU Planning Assistance Team in Armenia is to "enhance the EU's awareness of the security situation, contribute to the planning and preparation of a possible civilian CSDP mission in the country, and to support the

President of the European Council The president of the European Council is the person presiding over and driving forward the work of the European Council on the world stage. This institution comprises the college of heads of state or government of EU member states as well as t ...

Charles Michel's EU-facilitated normalization process between Armenia and Azerbaijan."

Timeline of events

On 12 December 2022, the EU's Foreign Affairs Council stated, "Sending a permanent mission to Armenia would help maintain the EU's credibility as a facilitator of dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan." On 16 December 2022, members of the European External Action Service arrived in Armenia for political consultations with Armenian authorities. Various issues were discussed including Armenia-EU relations and the implementation of the

Armenia–EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement The Armenia–EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement or CEPA is a partnership agreement between the European Union and Armenia. The agreement advances the bilateral relations between the European Union and Armenia to a new, partnersh ...

. On 20 December 2022, the

High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European Union (EU). The position is currently held ...

, Josep Borrell stated, "Today we start a new phase in the EU's engagement in the

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

, with a transitional team that will prepare the ground for a possible longer term EU mission in Armenia, with the ultimate goal of contributing to sustainable peace in the region." On 9 January 2023,

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan held a meeting with members of the EU Planning Assistance Team in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

. The Planning Assistance Team and Armenian officials discussed the possibility of deploying a long-term EU civilian mission to Armenia. Ambassador of the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia, Andrea Wiktorin participated in the discussions. On 10 January 2023, the Minister of Defence of Armenia

Suren Papikyan Suren Rafiki Papikyan (; born 26 April 1986) is an Armenian politician currently serving as the Minister of Defense of Armenia. He formerly served as minister of territorial administration and infrastructure and briefy as deputy prime minister. ...

met with the Head of the EU Planning Assistance Team in Armenia, Marcin Wydra. The sides discussed regional issues, the EU's role in maintaining peace in the region, and the activities of the EU Planning Assistance Team towards planning a permanent

Common Security and Defence Policy The Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) is the European Union's (EU) course of action in the fields of defence and crisis management, and a main component of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The CSDP involves the deplo ...

(CSDP) mission in Armenia. On 23 January 2022, the

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...

agreed to establish a longer term civilian mission under the Common Security and Defence Policy, the

(EUMA).

References

External links

European Union Planning Assistance Team in Armenia
on

{{Portal bar, European Union, Europe, Politics Military and civilian missions of the European Union Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Armenia–European Union relations Armenia–Azerbaijan relations Politics of the European Union December 2022 events in Europe January 2023 events in Europe 2020s in Armenia