A few days ago, the European Parliament almost unanimously proposed to the EU executive structures to consider the issue of giving Armenia the status of a candidate for EU membership. In case of any event, the reaction of any society is usually of two types. Those two extreme types are defined by the Greek words “panic” (panic) and “euphoria” (roughly, excitement to the point of drunkenness). In this case, naturally, it is the second. Moreover, the euphoria is often artificial and is inflamed by official propaganda.
First, there is no need to deceive people and inspire hope that Armenia will become a member of the EU in a few years, although EU membership should be officially formulated as a strategic goal, which has yet to be done so far. The fact that the European Parliament proposes something like this does not mean that the European Commission (the highest executive body of the EU) will immediately accept our application to become a candidate. And Armenia, as far as I know, has yet to submit such an application so far.
It also needs to be determined whether Armenia can submit that application while remaining a member of the EAEU (The Eurasian Economic Union). You certainly remember how our country’s accession to the Customs Union in 2013 effectively blocked the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU.
If we manage to get the candidate status in a few years, it still does not mean that we will necessarily become a member of the EU. 8 countries now have candidate status. Albania (since 2014), Bosnia-Herzegovina (since 2022), Georgia (since 2023), Moldova (since 2022), North Macedonia (since 2005), Serbia (since 2012), Turkey (since 1999) and Ukraine (from 2022). I suggest you look at that list and calculate who will be “let in” in that list first.
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However, my main doubts are related to the sincerity of the current Armenian government. Pashinyan does not support European integration. I think he continues to consider his Western partners “euro alfalfa” (let’s remind you that this is Pashinyan’s formulation years ago) “grass” to the extent that it is possible to constantly deceive them with imitation of democracy and harsh rhetoric against Russia.
Of course, Europeans are not as naive as he imagined them to be, fooled by “democracy.” This is the rhetoric they need now.
The only purpose of Pashinyan’s “pro-European” moves is to extend his power, a goal that has been successfully implemented so far. Moreover, in my impression, there is a general agreement between Russia, the West, and Turkey (Azerbaijan) regarding his stay in power. I understand that Russia’s inclusion in that list is bad news for most of our opposition. But they need to know the truth to calculate the steps.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
