Welcome to Wider Europe, RFE/RL’s newsletter focusing on the key issues concerning the European Union, NATO, and other institutions and their relationships with the Western Balkans and Europe’s Eastern neighborhoods.
I’m RFE/RL Europe Editor Rikard Jozwiak, and this week I’m drilling down on two issues: In light of Azerbaijan’s lightning takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh, what can the EU do for Armenia now? Plus, is Brussels capable of slapping more sanctions on Moscow?
Also, last week, I sat down with the European Commission’s vice president for values and transparency, Vera Jourova. In the interview, she said that to unblock EU funding, Hungary must meet set conditions on reforming its judiciary and ensuring the protection of fundamental rights.
Brief #1: What Now For EU-Armenia Relations?
What You Need To Know: On October 18, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian will address the full plenary of the European Parliament. It comes just a month after Azerbaijan’s military carried out an offensive that overwhelmed breakaway ethnic Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku now controls territory that has been under ethnic Armenian rule for decades, forcing up to 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee Karabakh for Armenia.
It also comes at a time when the European Union is getting increasingly engaged in a diplomatic settlement between Baku and Yerevan — while pondering what its relations with Armenia might look like in the future. In the coming weeks, European Council President Charles Michel is expected to host Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Brussels for talks.
For Brussels, it is important to get this peace process started, after the failure of the trio to meet in the Spanish city of Granada on October 5, along with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Aliyev backed out, reportedly after his request that Turkey participate in the talks to counter France’s supposed pro-Armenian bias was denied. The Turkish president,…
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