European Union Moves to Eliminate Tariffs on 80% of Armenian Exports, Pledges New Funding

Armenia moved a step closer to the European Union on Wednesday after Brussels proposed opening most of its market to Armenian goods, while also promising new financial assistance to help the country withstand growing economic pressure from Russia.

Speaking in Yerevan alongside Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the European Union will seek to remove tariffs on about 80% of Armenian exports through a package of Autonomous Trade Measures.

“If adopted, around 80% of Armenian exports to the European Union will no longer be subject to tariffs,” von der Leyen said.

The proposal would give Armenian producers duty-free access to most of the EU market without requiring Armenia to become an EU candidate country or sign a free trade agreement with the bloc. Pashinyan said the measure would make Armenia the first country in recent years to receive such trade preferences under those conditions.

Von der Leyen did not say when the proposal could take effect, but Pashinyan urged EU institutions and member states to move quickly, noting that Armenia’s harvest season has already begun.

“I hope we will be able to complete the decision-making process in a short period of time,” the prime minister said.

Later, during a Cabinet meeting, Pashinyan said the political agreement had already been reached and that the next challenge would be turning it into real export opportunities for Armenian businesses.

The announcement comes as relations between Armenia and Russia continue to deteriorate. Moscow has imposed trade restrictions on Armenian products in recent months while openly criticizing Yerevan’s efforts to deepen ties with Europe.

Von der Leyen acknowledged those pressures directly.

“I know Armenia continues to face significant economic pressure from Russia, pressure that is close to economic coercion,” she said. “But when pressure on our partners increases, the European Union steps forward.”

She also announced an additional €18 million in EU funding to strengthen Armenia’s export capacity. According to von der Leyen, the money could help establish an export promotion agency and expand opportunities for Armenian businesses in international markets. The funding completes a €52 million assistance package the European Commission began preparing earlier this summer in response to Russian trade restrictions.

Pashinyan described Armenia’s relationship with the European Union as closer than ever before, saying cooperation is increasingly producing tangible economic results alongside political partnership.

He also dismissed any suggestion that Armenia could once again reverse its European course under Russian pressure, as it did in 2013 when it abandoned plans to sign an Association Agreement with the EU and instead joined the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union.

“That is no longer possible,” Pashinyan said, arguing that Armenian voters have clearly endorsed the government’s balanced foreign policy.

At the same time, he insisted that closer cooperation with Europe is not intended to damage relations with Moscow.

“We have never set, and will never set, the goal of creating a crisis in Armenia-Russia relations,” he said. “We act in accordance with the interests of the Republic of Armenia.”

The prime minister also reaffirmed his government’s determination to regain control over Armenia’s railway system, which has been operated for years by Russia’s South Caucasus Railways under a concession agreement.

Pashinyan said work has already begun to restore the Gyumri-Akhurik and Yeraskh railway sections and confirmed that negotiations with Russian partners over the broader railway network will continue.

“Our position has not changed and will not change,” he said.

He argued that Armenia cannot afford to remain a bystander as new regional transportation routes take shape.

“We cannot simply watch international railways enter Armenia and then bypass Armenia. That cannot happen,” Pashinyan said.

He added that Armenia’s rail infrastructure is state property and must serve the country’s national interests.

“The railways belong to Armenia and must serve the interests of the Republic of Armenia. There is no other option,” he said.

Outside the Government building, von der Leyen’s visit drew protests from members of the Hayakve movement and the Mother Armenia alliance. Police prevented demonstrators from approaching the building, stopping them near a nearby intersection.

Protesters addressed both Pashinyan and von der Leyen in Armenian and English, calling for the release of what they described as political prisoners.

Among those they highlighted were Mother Armenia leader Andranik Tevanyan, who remains in pretrial detention on charges of espionage and high treason, and Hayakve leader Avetik Chalabyan, who is being held on charges of preparing to obstruct a group of people from exercising their voting rights. Neither man’s trial has begun.

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