EU launches €2.2 million initiative to propel Armenia’s visa liberalisation dialogue

In a significant leap toward deepening EU-Armenia relations, the European Union officially launched a new two-year project on June 1 titled “Support to the visa liberalisation dialogue in Armenia in the fields of border management, document security, and law enforcement reforms”.

The project will assist the Armenian government in advancing key reforms of the Action Plan on Visa Liberalisation (VLAP). Backed by a €2.2 million EU allocation, the project is being implemented by Lithuania’s Central Project Management Agency, leveraging the member state’s own successful European integration track record.

The launch directly follows a milestone event: the delivery of the EU’s First Action Report on visa liberalisation (VLAP) to the Armenian government during the recent EU-Armenia Summit. This report serves as a rigorous European blueprint, outlining strategic recommendations across four fundamental pillars of governance:

• Travel document security: Upgrading technologies to match strict international and EU safety standards.
• Border, migration, and asylum management: Creating humane, organised, and highly efficient border infrastructure.
• Public order and security: Strengthening law enforcement cooperation and institutional integrity.
• Fundamental rights: Ensuring that freedom of movement goes hand-in-hand with the protection of human rights and civil liberties.

The event drew high-level European and diplomatic participation, including EU Ambassador Vassilis Maragos, Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia; Gintaras Aliksandravičius, Lithuania’s Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs; and Andrius Pulokas, Lithuania’s Ambassador to Armenia.