EU mission expanding its scope in Armenia

The European Union's (EU) monitoring mission in Armenia inaugurated on September 12 a new operational headquarters in the Ijevan (Karvansaray) city of Armenia.

The opening ceremony was attended by Head of the EU Mission Markus Ritter, EU Ambassador to Armenia Vasilis Maragos, Armenia's Deputy Minister of Defence Hrachya Sargsyan and Governor of Tavush (Tovuzgal) region Hayk Galumyan.

On February 20, the EU launched the EU civilian mission in Armenia (EU Mission in Armenia/EUMA) under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).

The EUMA was formally established by a Council Decision on 23 January 2023. Through its deployment on the Armenian side of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, it aims to contribute to stability in the border areas of Armenia, build confidence and human security in conflict-affected areas, and ensure an environment conducive to the normalisation efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan supported by the EU.

The exclusively civilian staff of the EUMA contains 100 members in total, including around 50 unarmed observers.

The mission’s operational headquarters is located in Yeghegnadzor, in the Vayots Dzor province of Armenia.

In a letter to the EU High Representative received on December 27, 2022, the Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan invited the EU to deploy a civilian CSDP mission to Armenia.

On January 23, 2023, the Council adopted a decision establishing the EUMA. The EUMA is characterised as a "neutral and non-executive mission" with a 2-year operational mandate.