The European Union will remove customs duties on roughly 80 percent of Armenian exports, opening its single market of 450 million consumers to goods that have faced mounting Russian trade barriers. The announcement, made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a visit to Yerevan on 2 July, marks a direct economic intervention after Moscow imposed sweeping restrictions on Armenian agricultural products, flowers, fish and alcoholic beverages in the weeks before the country’s 7 June parliamentary election.

The autonomous trade measures, which still require approval from EU member states and the European Parliament, will liberalise access for nearly all fresh fruit, vegetables and plant-based products previously destined for Russia, as well as more than 90 percent of Armenian beverage and alcohol exports. Brussels is also disbursing the remaining €18 million of a €52 million support package, with a team of EU experts due to arrive in mid-July to help Armenian producers and exporters meet European standards and redirect supply chains. Von der Leyen described the Russian restrictions as “essentially economic coercion,” while officials in Brussels framed the package as a signal that the bloc will step up when partners face pressure.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, whose Civil Contract party won the election with 49.8 percent of the vote, used the joint briefing to insist that Armenia does not seek a crisis with Russia and will continue its membership in the Eurasian Economic Union. At the same time, he confirmed that Yerevan aims to achieve visa liberalisation with the EU by 2029. The balancing act is reflected in domestic political shifts: parliamentary speaker Alen Simonyan, a close Pashinyan ally, announced his departure from the prime minister’s team on the same day, citing a need to rest, while a readout of a recent phone call between Pashinyan and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin suggested Moscow declined to discuss EAEU tensions directly, referring the matter to the bloc’s institutions.

Viewed from Moscow, Armenia’s deepening ties with the EU are incompatible with its obligations in the Russian-led economic union, and the trade restrictions—officially justified on sanitary grounds—are widely interpreted in Yerevan as political leverage. The EU measures now set up a test of Armenia’s ability to reorient trade flows despite its lack of direct maritime access and the logistical challenges of exporting perishable goods. The next concrete milestone is the approval process in Brussels, where the tariff suspension must be endorsed by the Council and the Parliament before it can take effect.