By Stella Mehrabekyan
On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a critical resolution on the situation in Azerbaijan, its violation of human rights and international law, and Baku’s relations with Armenia yesterday. The MEPs called for sanctions against the Azerbaijani officials who have committed serious violations of human rights, demanded that political prisoners, including Armenians, be released from Azerbaijani prisons, and that Baku withdraw its troops from Armenia’s sovereign territory. Earlier this week, French representative François-Xavier Bellamy labeled Azerbaijan’s hosting of the COP29 climate summit a “scandal”, accused Baku of destroying Armenian historical heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh, and even urged the EU to terminate its gas supply agreement with Azerbaijan.
Such rhetoric is permissible due to the very principle underlying the existence of the European Parliament. It has limited power and primarily serves to debate and pass non-binding resolutions, exerting influence through political pressure rather than direct enforcement. Legislative authority largely resides with the European Commission and Council, making Parliament’s role more advisory.
Nonetheless, it remains an official body of the EU, and interest in joining this bloc is steadily growing in Armenia. The country’s authorities, including Prime Minister Pashinyan, are increasingly discussing closer ties with the EU, and the campaign to gather signatures for a referendum on initiating negotiations for EU membership has surpassed the required number of signatures in half the time allotted.
While it’s still early to speak of Armenia’s membership in concrete terms, there is a pressing need to move beyond mere rhetoric and actively align Armenia’s legislation with European human rights standards while also counter-balancing Yerevan’s dependence on Moscow, according to Sergey Lagodinsky, a member of the European Parliament representing Germany who spoke to CivilNet and other Armenian journalists in Berlin.
“Instead of talking about Armenia’s EU membership right away, it would be wiser to go step by step: first of all, by addressing the fact that Armenia is over-dependent on Russia’s trade market and energy so as to diversify [Armenia’s economy],” Lagodinsky says, adding that Europe should help Armenia further develop democratic institutions no matter how big of a challenge this is going to be.
The EU is commonly associated with prosperity and economic development, a reputation supported by the significant quality of life improvements and economic growth seen in Eastern European countries that have already joined the Union compared to those that haven’t.
However, such benefits aren’t always immediately clear to the broader population. As a result, numerous cases of vote-buying were reported during the recent referendum on EU accession in Moldova, Lagodinsky notes.
Unsurprisingly, however, Armenians are more concerned with the issues of security and political stability, according to a September survey conducted in the country by the U.S.-funded International Republican Institute. The EU should and can address those concerns, too, Lagodinsky says.
“Be it Ukraine or Armenia, people cannot defend themselves with sunflowers. It must be made very clear that the European Union is on Armenia’s side and that it will do everything to make Armenia able to defend itself and also to emancipate itself from the Russian influence,” he says, also adding that the EU believes Armenia made “a voluntary sacrifice” when it didn’t intervene in Azerbaijan’s offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh last September.
The EU should further address the problem of security in the South Caucasus in its relations with Turkey, Lagodinsky believes. Although the country bears what he describes as “destructive potential”, it can also act as a constructive power.
“In our latest resolution on Armenia and Azerbaijan, we stated that we encourage and support the European defense facility efforts also to include Armenia. Additionally, I think we need to encourage strategic dialogue with Turkey as I don’t think Azerbaijan would dare do things that Turkey is against,” Lagodinsky says.
His previous interactions with Turkish officials make him believe Ankara is not interested in destabilizing the situation in the South Caucasus, but is desperate to get a foothold in the region to balance out the Russian influence.
“Turkey is not 100% on the other side [opposing Armenia]. But we need to be careful so as not to push Azerbaijan into Vladimir Putin’s arms. It is a very complex conundrum, and unfortunately, it’s all about people’s lives and [the fate of] the future generations,” according to Lagodinsky.
At the same time, the EU should also strengthen its presence on the ground in Armenia. The bloc’s monitoring mission is key to deterring major Azerbaijani aggression, senior Armenian officials believe: “Since its deployment there hasn’t been any major escalation. It works, it really works and we highly appreciate this effort of the European Union,” the country’s foreign minister, Ararat Mirzoyan, said earlier this month.
Ever since the mission was launched last January, numerous Russian and Azerbaijani officials and media claimed its presence was an unfriendly act, while also accusing the mission of espionage. Russia’s dissatisfaction with the EU presence is a good sign that proves the mission’s efficiency, according to Lagodinsky.
“Precisely because of the reaction that we hear from the Russian side I think that this mission is useful. Russia’s discontent is a quality seal,” he says, adding that the EU should extend the mission’s mandate that is to expire in February.
The upcoming parliamentary elections in Georgia will have a huge impact on the immediate future of the South Caucasus, including Armenia, Lagodinsky believes. The election, scheduled for this Saturday, will see the ruling Georgian Dream party that has been moving the country closer to Russia and further away from the EU politically, clash against the pro-European forces, backed by acting ceremonial president, Salome Zurabishvili.
“I hope that Georgians will vote wisely. Armenia will be in a tough situation if there is further negative development in Georgia,” Lagodnisky says. “But at the same time, it might create unique chances for Armenia, as the country could become some sort of a bridge connecting the European Union with the South Caucasus [politically], as well as with the whole region to the east.”
This article was published within the frames of “Correspondents in Conflict” Project,
implemented by Yerevan Press Club and Deutsche Gesellschaft e. V. The Project is
funded by the German Federal Foreign Office within the “Eastern Partnership Program”.
The contents of this article are the sole responsibility of the implementing partners and can in
no way be taken to reflect the views of the Federal Foreign Office. #civilsocietycooperation
Stella Mehrabekyan holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from Yerevan State University. She joined CivilNet in 2011. Prior to that, she worked in the European Union’s E-Gov.Am program through the Armenian-European Policy and Legal Advice Centre (Aeplac), with experience in the Foreign Ministry. Currently, she works at CivilNet as Senior Editor. Stella also conducts interviews in Armenian and Russian on political, regional and social topics.
