The European Union has announced an additional €18 million ($20.5 million) in economic assistance for Armenia and moved to ease export rules for Armenian goods, as Brussels seeks to strengthen ties with the South Caucasus country amid growing Russian trade pressure.
The announcement came during a visit to Yerevan on Thursday by the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who met Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
The new €18 million disbursement forms part of a broader €52 million ($59.3 million) EU assistance package agreed earlier in June.
Brussels also said it would remove tariffs on nearly 80 per cent of Armenian exports to the EU, significantly improving access to the bloc’s market of around 450 million consumers.
Von der Leyen said the measures are intended to help Armenian businesses reach European markets faster and reduce economic pressure on the country.
“I know Armenia is still facing significant economic pressure from Russia,” she said. “But rest assured: when pressure mounts on our partners, the EU steps up.”
The move comes after Moscow imposed wide-ranging trade restrictions on Armenia ahead of a parliamentary election in June, in which the ruling Civil Contract party secured 49.8% of the vote.
Russian authorities accused Western actors of interference in the election, while also echoing claims from Armenian opposition groups regarding alleged voting irregularities.
The restrictions have affected several of Armenia’s key export sectors, including fresh produce, flowers, fish and alcoholic products.
Armenia remains part of a Russian-led economic bloc, and Russia accounted for roughly 35 per cent of the country’s foreign trade last year, compared with 11 per cent for the European Union.
The support for Armenia is part of a wider EU strategy to deepen engagement in the South Caucasus, a region where geopolitical competition has intensified.
During a separate visit to Baku on Wednesday, von der Leyen announced €200 million ($228.2 million) in EU grant funding aimed at strengthening transport, energy and digital connectivity across the region.
The initiative is intended to support long-term stability and improve relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan following decades of conflict between the two countries.
Washington’s counter-narcotics push is expanding as Colombia’s new conservative government backs deeper security cooperation....
Russia has accused Ukraine of threatening global grain supplies after recent strikes on Black Sea agricultural infrastructure, while Moscow carried ou...
The Strait of Hormuz is "under Iran's control and management", the head of Iran's Basij paramilitary unit, Hossein Taeb, said on Thursday, according t...
Disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has increased the strategic importance of Bab al-Mandab, raising fears that instability in both waterways could trigger a wider global energy and trade crisis.
Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called for Iran to pay compensation for decades of deaths and damage, adding a new demand to peace talks as Tehran seeks compensation and sanctions relief before reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
A criminal court in Damascus has sentenced former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for premeditated murder, torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity, according to Syria’s state news agency SANA.
Millions of people across Spain and Iceland are preparing on Wednesday to witness a rare total solar eclipse, when the moon will pass directly between Earth and the Sun, briefly turning daylight into darkness along a narrow path.
Central Asia’s economy has surpassed $543 billion, driven by Kazakhstan’s economic weight, strong exports and foreign investment, while growing trade across Asia points to an increasingly connected region.
The United Nations refugee agency is planning a settlement and carpet-weaving workshop for Afghan returnees in Kabul as the country grapples with large-scale returns and growing pressure on housing, jobs and basic services.
Iran will soon join the New Development Bank (NDB), the lender established by BRICS nations, Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said in a state media report on Wednesday ahead of a BRICS finance meeting in India.
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has outlined an expanded vision for the Zangezur Corridor, describing it not simply as a transport route connecting mainland Azerbaijan with the Nakhchivan exclave, but as a future platform for energy, telecommunications and wider regional integration.
Iran and Russia are seeking closer cooperation on arms control and Iran’s nuclear programme as the two countries deepen strategic ties amid heightened tensions with the U.S. and Israel.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment