EU Establishes New Civilian Partnership Mission in Armenia Under CSDP

• Council of the EU
• Press release
• 21 April 2026 15:25

Armenia: EU establishes a new civilian mission to contribute strengthening the country’s resilience

The Council established today the EU Partnership Mission in Armenia (EUPM Armenia) under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), a further contribution in the efforts to enhance Armenia’s democratic resilience and its ability to manage crises.

The mission will support Armenia facing multi-layered ** threats such as foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI), cyber-attacks and illicit financial flows. EUPM Armenia will provide strategic advice and capacity building to various ministries and national institutions on the development of policies to address threats faced by society and national institutions, and support the development of a horizontal, whole-of-government approach. It will also provide operational advice and feature a project cell responsible for identifying and implementing concrete actions in the areas covered by the mandate of the mission, in close coordination with like-minded partners.

Armenians are facing massive disinformation campaigns and cyber-attacks. Over the next years, a new EU civilian mission will provide expert advice, capacity building for government departments and a team monitoring areas for urgent action. When Armenians go to the polls in June, they alone should choose their country’s future. The EU helps to protect Armenia’s resilience.

Kaja Kallas, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
The EU Partnership Mission in Armenia will have an initial mandate of two years, and its Operational Headquarters will be in Armenia. The Managing Director of the Civilian Operations Headquarters  within the European External Action Service - Stefano Tomat - will be the Civilian Operation Commander. He will exercise command and control of EUPM Armenia at the strategic level under the political control and strategic direction of the Council’s Political and Security Committee, and the overall authority of the High Representative.

A Head of Mission responsible for leading operations on the ground will be appointed shortly.

Background and next steps

On 2 December 2025, the EU-Armenia Partnership Council endorsed a new Strategic Agenda for the EU-Armenia Partnership. Building on the foundations of the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, the Strategic Agenda marks a significant step forward in deepening relations in wide range of areas, including in the area of security and defence.

EUPM is being deployed upon the request of the Armenian authorities.

EUPM is a second civilian CSDP mission to Armenia, separate from the EU Mission in Armenia (EUMA) established in 2023, and tasked with observing and reporting on the situation on the ground, contributing to confidence building and human security in conflict-affected areas.

• Joint press statement following the 6th meeting of the EU-Armenia Partnership Council (press release, 3 December 2025)
• EU and Armenia reaffirm and advance their partnership during a Leaders’ meeting (joint press release, 14 July 2025)
• EU relations with Armenia (background information)

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Topics
- Foreign affairs
- Cybersecurity
- Security and defence
- Eastern Europe

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