Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said today that “Armenia announces the start of the process of EU membership.”

The government approved today the draft law to begin Armenia’s EU membership process.

“A draft law on starting Armenia’s membership process to the EU has been submitted to the National Assembly for discussion by the procedure of a civil initiative, and now the government must express a position. We propose to express a positive stance based on several factors,” Ararat Mirzoyan said during the cabinet meeting.

He noted that in recent years, Armenia and the EU have had quite intensive and dynamic relations.

“They had very rich content and covered different areas. The EU has expressed strong political support for Armenia’s democracy. It has also been involved in ensuring the security environment around Armenia. I mean the deployment of the EU Civilian Monitoring Mission. The EU has also expressed its readiness to support the strengthening of Armenia’s economic resilience. Mr. Prime Minister, you have stated in the European Parliament that Armenia is ready to be as close to the EU as the EU deems possible. We have also seen signs of this being possible. Based on all this, we propose to respond positively,” the foreign minister said.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stressed the importance of correctly understanding the essence and context of the issue.

“The government does not oppose the adoption of this law, but I want to clarify what this means. This does not mean Armenia’s membership in the EU in the literal sense, because such a decision cannot be made through a law and a government decision - it can only be done through a referendum. There is no other option,” he said.

According to Nikol Pashinyan, under any scenarios, Armenia can join the EU only if a referendum is held and the required number of backing votes are secured, in accordance with the procedure provided for by the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia.

“But it should also be noted that in the event of the adoption of this law, we must have a certain understanding of the next steps, including whether or not holding a referendum.

My understanding is that after the adoption of this law, we should discuss with the EU the roadmap that they envision and the one we envision. We should develop a roadmap together,” Nikol Pashinyan said, noting that “very serious” developments have been recorded in Armenia-EU relations in recent years.