The European Commission has highly appreciated Armenia’s progress in implementing the Visa Liberalization Action Plan.
On 5 May, in the framework of the Armenia-EU Summit, in the presence of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, the President of the European Council Antonio Costa and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Vassilis Maragos, handed over the first progress report to the Minister of Internal Affairs and Chief Negotiator of Armenia on visa liberalisation with the EU, Arpine Sargsyan. It records the Armenian authorities’ clear political commitment to implementing the necessary reforms for visa liberalization with the EU. “The Armenian authorities have shown strong political commitment to implementing the reforms expected under the Visa Liberalization Action Plan. Even though the VLAP was only recently handed over to Armenia, numerous reforms have either already been initiated or are being planned by the Armenian authorities,” the report states.
Shortly after the Action Plan was issued, the Government of Armenia, through the coordination of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, has already initiated or planned a significant part of the required legislative and policy changes, and Armenia’s work on document security and migration management is now at an advanced stage of development.
The report details the significant steps taken and progress made by Armenia in the four areas of the Action Plan:
Document Security: A public-private partnership agreement was signed to modernize the biometric identification system, ensuring that future identity documents issued meet the highest standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). In addition, in July 2025, Armenia adopted a new law, “On the State Population Register,” that will create a unified, secure electronic population register, marking a significant step forward in data collection and use.
Border, Migration and Asylum Management: Armenia is actively developing the Integrated Border Management (IBM) Strategy for 2026-2029.
Armenia has also made progress in the digitalization of several services. In particular, the electronic management system for citizenship affairs has been launched since January 2026, and the full digitalization of work and residence permit procedures for foreign citizens is also underway. The draft amendment to the RA Law “On Refugees and Asylum” has also passed the interdepartmental coordination stage and is currently being finalized. Armenia continues to strengthen cooperation with EU Member States and non-EU countries in the field of readmission.
Public order and security:
Since 2018, Armenia has significantly strengthened its anti-corruption legal and institutional framework and brought it into line with international standards. Armenia has adopted the “Crime Prevention Strategy for 2026-2033.” The launch of the “Strategy” demonstrates Armenia’s commitment to strengthening its crime prevention capabilities through evidence-based policies, institutional coordination, and targeted preventive measures.
The new Action Plan to Combat Trafficking will be adopted in 2026, and the EU has positively assessed the addition of new projects in this direction.The European side also positively assesses the establishment of a new, independent personal data protection authority, whose activities will be in line with European principles and best practices on personal data protection.
Fundamental rights: Armenia is currently developing the Law on Prevention and Combating Discrimination and the Law on National Minorities, aligning them with European standards. In addition, Armenia adopted new legislation on children’s rights in 2025 to provide a more comprehensive framework for protection against violence and exploitation.
Welcoming the positive dynamics, the European Commission stressed that progress is assessed exclusively through a results-based approach and is conditioned on the effective and consistent implementation of all benchmarks.
The report also presents recommendations designed to assist Armenia in filling the identified gaps.
The Commission will continue to monitor the implementation of all benchmarks set by the Action Plan, with the assistance of experts from EU Member States. For this purpose, additional assessment missions will be organized in Armenia in the near future. It was also noted that the EU remains committed to supporting Armenia’s reform efforts by providing dedicated technical and financial assistance, in particular under the Resilience and Growth Program for Armenia.
Having analyzed all the steps taken by Armenia under the first set of benchmarks (legislation and policy framework) of the Action Plan, the European Commission concluded that Armenia is “at an advanced stage of fulfillment” in the areas of document security, borders, migration management and asylum, and “progressing well” in the areas of public security and fundamental rights.
During statements on the sidelines of the summit, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, referring to the priority of EU-Armenia visa liberalization, said they are pleased to present the first progress report and congratulated Armenia on its highly positive nature. Ursula von der Leyen praised the effective work and progress made since November last year.
The President of the European Commission expressed confidence that the process will continue successfully and achieve its goal.
