As explained by Armenpress, the EU expert mission will carry out an assessment of the readiness of Armenia in several areas including border and migration management as well as document security, among others.
By conducting this gap analysis, the expert mission aims to ensure that Armenia meets all the criteria set so far and to use such findings to develop the action plan for the dialogue. This means that the results from the assessment will be used by the EU to set the conditions that must be met by Armenia to achieve visa-free entry for its citizens to the bloc.
Commenting on the matter, the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Armenia, Armen Ghazaryan, said that the country has achieved progress in several areas. The same stressed that due to the close cooperation with the EU, progress has particularly been made in the area of migration.
The country has already assured the EU that the visa liberalisation agreement will not spark migration rise. The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan said in September of last year that the country has taken all necessary steps to prevent irregular migration to the bloc once the visa-free travel agreement is reached.
EU & Armenia Launched Visa Liberalisation Dialogue on Political Level Last Year
The EU and Armenia launched the visa liberalisation dialogue on the political level in September of last year. Through this dialogue, both parties said that they aim to reach an agreement that will facilitate the entry of Armenians into the bloc.
Once the visa liberalisation agreement between the EU and Armenia is reached and becomes effective, Armenian passport holders will be able to enter the Schengen Area without the need to apply for a visa provided that their stay does not exceed 90 days within any 180-day period.
As for Armenians who want to remain within the bloc for a longer period that exceeds 90 days, they will need to obtain a long-term visa.
Poland has already expressed support for Armenia’s visa liberalisation journey. The French Prime Minister, Emmanuel Macron, has also told the Armenian authorities that France would support the country in reaching the visa liberalisation agreement with the EU.
