Ignoring stern warnings from Russia, the National Assembly approved the bill in the first reading on February 12. Its committee on European integration was due to give the mandatory green light for its adoption in the second and final reading on March 3. However, the committee chairman, Arman Yeghoyan, postponed the vote.
The unexpected delay stoked speculation that Prime Minister Pashinian now wants to mend fences with Russia because of the unfolding thaw in U.S.-Russian relations which could strengthen Moscow in the international arena. Yeghoyan attributed it to a minor amendment to the one-article bill proposed by Pashinian’s government.
The amendment removed a refence to the “united will of the people of Armenia.” The final version of the bill still declares the “start of a process of Armenia's accession to the European Union.” The committee’s decision means that the parliament will have to debate it later this week.
Russia has warned that Yerevan’s efforts to join the EU would strip Armenia of its tariff-free access to the Russian market and sharply push up the cost of Russian natural gas supplied to the South Caucasus nation. Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, repeated those warnings on March 20. He said that Moscow would also deport scores of Armenian migrant workers.
Armenian officials have responded by stressing that the bill in question does not amount to an EU membership bid. This explanation has not satisfied the two opposition groups represented in the Armenian parliament.
They have described the initiative as reckless and warned of its severe consequences for the Armenian economy. Opposition leaders say it is all the more ill-timed given the EU’s deepening rift with the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump over the conflict in Ukraine. No EU member has voiced support for the prospect of Armenia’s membership in the 27-nation bloc.
