EU Council Approves First-Ever Military Support for Armenia

The EU Council on Monday, 22 July, adopted a decision to provide assistance to the Armenian Armed Forces in the amount of 10 million euros. The aid will be provided within the framework of the European Peace Facility (EPF). This is the first such decision for Armenia, eurointegration.com.ua reported. The aim is to enhance logistical and technical capacity of the Armenian Armed Forces and to help improve the protection of civilians in crises and emergencies. The aid is also aimed at enhancing Armenia’s resilience and accelerating the interoperability of its armed forces in the event of the country’s possible future participation in international military missions and operations, including those deployed by the EU. The measure will provide a full deployable tent camp for a battalion-sized unit. It should be recalled that last week the European Union ambassadors at a meeting approved the start of a dialogue on visa-free travel with Armenia and for the first time in history agreed on the allocation of military aid to the country from the European Peace Facility. Earlier, the decision to allocate aid to Armenia within the framework of the European Peace Facility was blocked by Hungary, according to media reports.