European Union member ambassadors, meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, reportedly approved an extension to the EU’s monitoring mission in Armenia until February 19, 2027.
According to Rikard Jozwiak, the Europe Editor of Radio Free Europe, which first reported on Wednesday’s extension approval, the EU has kept the mission’s mandate unchanged, first established two years ago. The mission aims to reduce incidents in Armenia’s border and conflict-affected regions, lower the risk for populations living in these areas, and contribute to the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations on the ground.
Similarly, the composition of the mission will also remain unchanged. This includes 165 observers and 44 Armenian staff members.
The EU foreign ministers will have to formally approve this decision, according to the EU mission in Armenia. However, this will be a mere formality, since ambassadors of the EU-member states have approved an extension.
Moscow and Baku recently have escalated their opposition to the EU mission in Armenia, officially using similar terminology that accuses the EU of interference in regional issues and destabilizing the region.
President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan said late last year that the EU mission posed a threat to the peace process with Armenia, calling for an immediate end to the effort.
In subsequent public statements, Aliyev has accused the EU of adopting a “pro-Armenian” stance and slammed it for interfering in regional affairs.
Russia has gone a step further, alleging that the EU mission is actively engaged in espionage and is using monitors to spy on Azerbaijan and other regional players.
