European Commissioner: Armenia Alone in Line for EU Visa Liberalization as Enlargement Stalls

Marta Kos said on October 7, 2026, that Armenia is the only country currently negotiating visa liberalization with the European Union. The European Commissioner for Enlargement described talks with Yerevan as active, but offered no date for visa-free travel.

Kos framed the process as conditional on both sides carrying through their commitments. “We are ready, and if they deliver, we are delivering too. Armenia is really moving a lot toward the European Union. At this point, it is the only country with which we are negotiating visa liberalization.”

She also put the obligation on Armenia to complete its side of the work. “If they fulfill their commitments, we will fulfill ours as well.”

That is not an approval of visa-free entry. Armenian citizens still need visas for eligible short-term travel to the Schengen area, and the EU has not announced when that could change.

Armenia’s government has set 2029 as its political target. The date appears in the 2026–2031 government program, but it does not guarantee that the EU will approve a visa-free regime by then.

At a Brussels briefing on September 7, 2026, European Commission chief spokesperson Paula Pinho cautioned against treating the target as a firm timetable. “It is still too early to predict whether 2029 or another date will be the point at which visa liberalization takes place.”

A 74-benchmark plan puts the next steps on Armenia

Talks began in September 2024. In 2025, the European Commission gave Armenia a Visa Liberalization Action Plan with 74 benchmarks, setting out reforms the government must carry out before the EU assesses the application.

The benchmarks cover four areas. One concerns secure identity documents and biometric systems. Another addresses integrated management of borders, migration and asylum.

A third covers public order and security, including organized crime, trafficking, drugs and corruption. The final area covers external relations and fundamental rights.

EU Ambassador to Armenia Vassilis Maragos has described the sequence as legislative change followed by practical implementation and then an assessment of compliance. The process takes time.

Maragos said implementation was “entirely in the hands of the Armenian authorities.” He also said that, given Armenia’s progress, visa liberalization “won’t be long in coming,” while making clear that it would not happen within months. “Months — definitely not, because this takes time.”

The steps therefore remain ahead of a final EU decision. Armenia must first put the required changes into effect, after which the bloc will assess whether the benchmarks have been met.

Armenian officials call the process advancing, not guaranteed

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government has presented 2029 as an objective, rather than a date assured by Brussels. Armenian political expert Hovsep Khurshudyan argued that Pinho’s warning did not amount to a rejection of visa-free travel; he said the process could even conclude in 2028 if Armenia completed the technical work.

That is Khurshudyan’s assessment, not an EU timetable. Pinho said no year could yet be predicted, while Kos tied the EU’s response to Armenia meeting its commitments.

Armenian Public Television accused Russian state media of distorting European officials’ remarks and portraying the EU position as a rejection of Armenia’s European trajectory. Khurshudyan also rejected claims that the EU had asked Armenia to restrict Russian citizens from entering the country.

Pashinyan addressed that claim directly: “We have absolutely no intention of doing anything like that.” The dispute has accompanied public debate over what closer ties with the EU would require.

Brussels has paired closer ties with trade and connectivity support

Kos also pointed to EU economic assistance and a special development package. She attributed some pressure on Armenia’s economy to Russian trade restrictions, saying Russia had “prohibited imports from your country.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a separate package on September 23, 2026. The EU was providing Armenia with a €200 million connectivity package, she said, while 80% of Armenian exports to the EU market were already tariff-free.

Von der Leyen also highlighted proposed Autonomous Trade Measures intended to create additional opportunities. Those measures and the connectivity package sit alongside the visa discussions in the EU’s broader engagement with Armenia.

Maragos’s account leaves the next move with Armenian authorities: enact the legislative changes, carry them out in practice, and undergo the EU’s assessment. The ambassador said the process would not be completed within months.