On December 19, when the short-term monitoring mission of the European Union on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan ended, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell informed that a ground is being prepared for a longer term EU mission in Armenia.
“The deployment of 40 European monitoring experts has proved to be effective and contributed to building confidence in an unstable situation. Today we start a new phase in the EU’s engagement in the South Caucasus, with a transitional team that will prepare the ground for a possible longer term EU mission in Armenia, with the ultimate goal of contributing to sustainable peace in the region,” Borrell announced.
According to the statement of the European Council, the Council — in agreement with Armenia’s authorities — decided that the existing EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia will deploy a transitional planning assistance team in Armenia to enhance the EU’s awareness of the security situation, and contribute to the planning and preparation of a possible civilian Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) mission in the country.
“The transitional planning assistance team is also expected to support the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, in the EU-facilitated normalisation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” — the statement said.
On October 17, the European Council decided to send up to 40 EU monitoring experts to Armenia to observe the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border for two months. The objective of the mission was to monitor, analyze and report on the situation on the ground.
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