Regardless of the European Union’s and its High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell’s, statements about their willingness to provide a negotiating platform for achieving peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the necessity to reduce tensions at the border, cease armed conflicts, and refrain from aggressive rhetoric, the actions of this political union speak for themselves.
Currently, the EU is exploring options for cooperation with Armenia through the European Peace Facility (EPF) – an organization specifically created to fund military operations abroad, at a time when Azerbaijan had restored its territorial integrity and expressed readiness to sign a peace treaty with Armenia.
Moreover, the fund has already undergone a similar practice. The EPF is an off-budget EU financing instrument established in March 2021 under the leadership of HRVP Josep Borrell. It aims to provide military assistance to partner countries and finances the deployment of EU military missions abroad within the framework of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). Initially, the fund’s budget was planned to be 5 billion euros for the period 2021-2027, gradually increasing from 420 million euros in 2021 to just over 1 billion euros in 2027. However, in December 2022, the European Council approved a 2 billion euro increase for the EPF in 2023, and also approved the possibility of further increasing the fund up to 5.5 billion euros by 2027.
In 2022, the fund financed six packages of military assistance to Ukraine, and according to the European Council, the financing planned up to including 2027 was exhausted by 86%. Besides Ukraine, the EPF has also funded defense assistance to several other countries, including Georgia, Moldova, Mali, Somalia, and Lebanon, and now Armenia is next in line.
In December last year, it was reported that the EU would consider the possibility of assisting Armenia through the EPF. Josep Borrell announced at a press conference, “We decided to strengthen the mission in Armenia, increasing the number of officers and patrols in the most vulnerable border areas. And we will consider possible support for Armenia within the framework of the European Peace Facility, as well as the liberalization of the visa regime for Armenia.”
However, the EU is strenuously attempting to impose on Azerbaijan the intention to violate Armenia’s territorial integrity.
“We must be very vigilant to any attempts to destabilize Armenia, both internally and externally. And our message to Azerbaijan is very clear: any violation of Armenia’s territorial integrity will be unacceptable and will have serious consequences for the quality of our relations,” he said.
Thus, European, and by extension, Western politicians are not at all interested in peace in the South Caucasus, and now they are doing everything possible to destabilize the situation in the region, trying to provoke Azerbaijan into a new confrontation with Armenia. Realizing that defeated Armenia itself would not dare such impudence, especially since Russia has left it at a crossroads, the EU has begun military cooperation with it, thereby openly indicating that it takes a pro-Armenian stance in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. This means that the EU cannot act as an impartial arbitrator in the negotiation process.
Armenia’s rapprochement with the EU has already begun, particularly in terms of easing the visa regime between Armenia and the EU, which is currently under discussion. The EU is involved in Armenia’s security issues. The timeline for Armenia’s accession to the EU is still being discussed, but the country’s top officials are already providing explanations.
“Armenia should apply for EU membership no later than autumn,” said Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at a closed meeting with deputies and members of the Armenian government.
