YEREVAN. April 10 (Interfax) - Yerevan is discussing a two-year extension of the EU Mission in Armenia (EUMA) after 2025, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.
"We are discussing an extension of the EU Mission's mandate for another two years," Pashinyan said in the country's parliament on Wednesday.
The Armenian parliament ratified an agreement on the EUMA's status in March 2024. According to the agreement, mission members can be neither detained nor arrested and enjoy immunity from prosecution in the host country. EUMA facilities also have immunity, and its members are not subject to customs, visa and migration regulations.
The Council of the European Union decided in January to enlarge the civilian mission in Armenia and approved its budget until 2025.
The resolution published on the EU website said that the mission's budget would amount to 39.035 million euros between January 23, 2023, and February 19, 2025.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said in December 2023 that the EU would enlarge the EUMA from 138 to 209 members.
The European Union announced the launch of the two-year EUMA on February 20, 2023. The mission is tasked with patrolling, submission of situational reports, assistance in the provision of stability in Armenia's border areas, and promoting normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations with the EU's support.
Armenia and the EU signed an agreement on the EUMA's status on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border on November 20, 2023.