EU Neighbours. On 11 December, the operational phase of the EU-Armenia Visa Liberalisation Dialogue was launched in Yerevan. The meeting was chaired by the Deputy Director-General for Migration and Home Affairs of the European Commission, Johannes Luchner, and the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, Arpine Sargsyan.
The parties held the first exchange on the reforms needed in key areas crucial for achieving visa-free travel to the EU. These areas include document security, border and migration management, mobility and asylum policies, combating corruption and organised crime, and upholding fundamental rights. The meeting also explored how the EU could further support these reforms.
Both sides reiterated that the process is substance-based, and there is no automatism nor deadline to conclude it.
The senior officials agreed that the next steps in the visa liberalisation progress would consist in two scoping visits early in the new year, to enable experts from the EU institutions and Member States to conduct a gap analysis. The results of these missions will help to establish the list of conditions necessary to achieve the long-term objective of visa-free travel for Armenian citizens to the EU.
