The government of Armenia approved the draft law at the beginning of the process of Armenia’s accession to the European Union, with the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashianyan, stressing that both parties must work together through a lot of issues.
Among the issues that Armenia expects to be resolved quickly by the EU, according to Pashinyan, is the visa liberalisation matter, Schengen.News reports.
One of them is the start of negotiations on visa liberalisation, a matter that has been on the agenda of Armenia for decades. Now, this atmosphere has understandably created an expectation among the citizens of Armenia that this matter will be resolved as quickly and efficiently as possible, especially since now there is a big problem related to obtaining visas from EU countries.
Armenia Held First Working Group Meeting on Visa Liberalisation in 2024
In October 2024, the government of Armenia, led by the Deputy Prime Minister, Mher Grigoryan, held its first working group meeting for visa liberalisation with the EU.
During the meeting, authorities discussed the measures that Armenia needs to take to reach a visa-free travel agreement with the European Union.
At present, Armenian passport holders are required to obtain a Schengen visa to reach the bloc. The visa-free travel agreement would permit Armenians to enter the EU countries for short-term stays under facilitated entry procedures without being required to apply for a visa at first.
It would allow Armenians to stay in the EU countries for periods that do not exceed 90 days within any 180-day period.
In September 2024, the EU and Armenia discussed the initiation of the dialogue on visa liberalisation for Armenia at a political level.
In the meeting participated the European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas along with the President of Armenia, Vahagn Khachaturyan, the Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ararat Mirzoyan.
The launch of the dialogue on visa liberalisation – at the political level with Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan – is a strong signal by the EU and its Member States of their determination to deepen the already solid partnership between the EU and Armenia.
The dialogue aims to help reach the visa-free travel agreement once Armenia implements substantial reforms in various areas such as security of travel documents, border, migration and asylum management, public order and security, among others.
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