On supporting democratic resilience in Armenia

–having regard to Rule 132(2) and (4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.whereas relations between the EU and Armenia are founded on shared values, including democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms;

B.whereas in April 2025 Armenia adopted a law launching the EU accession process; whereas the new Strategic Agenda for the EU-Armenia Partnership, adopted in December 2025 and building upon a deepened implementation of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, covers a wide range of areas, including democracy and the rule of law, justice reform and human rights; whereas these choices demonstrate Armenia’s sovereign commitment to democratic standards and the rule of law, consistent with EU norms and values;

C.whereas, according to the 2026 Democracy Index of the Economist Intelligence Unit, Armenia is recognised as the leading democracy in its region;

D.whereas Armenia will hold parliamentary elections on 7 June 2026, which constitute a decisive moment for the continued democratic development of Armenia and for the Armenian people’s free and sovereign choice for its future;

E.whereas Armenia’s open and pluralistic democratic system is exposed to sustained foreign information manipulation and interference, primarily originating from Russia, including through channels within Armenian society;

F.whereas Armenia’s Foreign Intelligence Service has warned that hybrid threats and influence operations conducted by foreign actors are likely to intensify ahead of the elections, including disinformation campaigns, cyberattacks and artificial political mobilisation;

G.whereas serious concerns have been raised regarding Russia’s attempts to influence Armenia’s political landscape through disinformation, cyber operations, economic pressure and the mobilisation of local proxies;

H.whereas the threats facing Armenia’s electoral process show strong similarities to the Russian interference experienced by the Republic of Moldova during its 2024 and 2025 elections, including large-scale disinformation, hostile cyber operations and attempts to distort the democratic debate;

I.whereas Armenian civil society organisations have documented several networks operated by Russian-speaking actors disseminating disinformation, hate speech and manipulative content linked to foreign interference;

J.whereas during their meeting on 1 April 2026, Vladimir Putin put pressure on Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to allow detained Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan to participate in Armenia’s upcoming elections;

K.whereas in recent years, Russia has used food safety standards as a way to exert economic pressure on Armenia; whereas the day after the recent meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Vladimir Putin, Russia announced ‘stricter requirements’ on the import of Armenian products;

L.whereas Armenia is set to host the European Political Community Summit on 4 May 2026, followed by the first-ever EU–Armenia Summit on 5 May 2026, marking a deepening of bilateral relations;

1.Affirms its confidence in the Armenian authorities’ commitment to uphold free, fair and transparent elections and expresses its support for their efforts to protect democratic institutions against external interference;

2.Recalls that the independence, impartiality and integrity of the electoral administration, including the electoral commissions, are essential to public trust in the electoral process;

3.Calls on the Armenian authorities to continue ensuring the security of candidates, journalists and voters throughout the campaign period and on polling day, and to guarantee full, timely and unhindered access for international and domestic election observation missions;

4.Stresses the critical importance of a robust international observation mission, tasked not only with monitoring the conduct of the electoral process itself, but also with identifying, documenting and publicly exposing malicious foreign interference;

5.Underlines the fundamental role of media pluralism and editorial independence in enabling informed democratic choice, and warns against attempts to distort the information environment through disinformation or external pressure;

6.Draws attention to the heightened risk of cyberattacks targeting electoral infrastructure, political actors and media outlets, and encourages enhanced preparedness and cooperation with EU partners in the field of cyber resilience;

7.Condemns the use of manipulation and disinformation designed to influence public opinion and sow division within Armenian society; calls on Russia to fully respect Armenia’s sovereignty and refrain from interfering in its democratic process;

8.Notes the specific challenges linked to the presence of a large number of Russian nationals, including dual nationals, in Armenia, and stresses the need for vigilance against any attempts to exploit this situation for electoral interference;

9.Notes with concern that certain domestic actors, including institutional and religious structures, may be instrumentalised to relay external narratives aimed at undermining democratic debate;

10.Draws attention to the risks associated with the externally sponsored facilitation of trips to Armenia taken by Armenian citizens living abroad in order to vote; highlights the risk of artificial distortions of the electoral environment, where such travel is incentivised or financed by foreign actors, particularly involving Russian citizens;

11.Calls for heightened vigilance against disinformation narratives seeking to undermine trust in Armenia’s democratic institutions, influence its sovereign geopolitical choices, or destabilise the peace process with Azerbaijan;

12.Welcomes the decision to establish the European Union Partnership Mission in the Republic of Armenia (EUPM Armenia), which is mandated to assist the Armenian authorities in countering hybrid threats, including foreign electoral interference, cyberattacks and illicit political financing; underlines the unanimous support of the Member States for this mission as a tangible expression of the EU’s commitment to Armenia’s democratic resilience, while noting that its establishment comes late, given the challenges Armenia faces;

13.Calls for the accelerated and effective implementation of EUPM Armenia, commensurate with the urgency of the situation, so as to maximise its impact in the period leading up to the parliamentary elections and beyond, with a particular focus on countering hybrid threats and strengthening democratic resilience;

14.Calls for the EU and its Member States to deploy experts and technical, operational and financial assistance to strengthen Armenia’s capacity to counter foreign information manipulation and interference, illicit political financing and money laundering;

15.Encourages enhanced information-sharing and cooperation with the Republic of Moldova, facilitated by the EU, in the light of comparable experiences of electoral interference;

16.Calls for the EU and its Member States to reinforce their financial and operational support for Armenian civil society organisations and independent media, recognising their crucial role in identifying and exposing hybrid threats and foreign interference; stresses the need to prioritise funding for initiatives aimed at combating disinformation, promoting media literacy and safeguarding civic space;

17.Calls on very large online platforms, including Telegram, Meta and Google, to apply their content moderation policies consistently and transparently in order to ensure that manifestly manipulative, defamatory or inauthentic politically motivated content targeting Armenia’s electoral process is systematically detected and removed, in line with their own community standards and their broader responsibilities towards democratic processes worldwide;

18.Welcomes the bilateral assistance provided by certain Member States, notably France, including through specialised structures such as Viginum;

19.Welcomes the deepening of EU-Armenia relations and Armenia’s principled solidarity with Ukraine, including through humanitarian assistance;

20.Welcomes the hosting by Yerevan of the European Political Community Summit and the first EU-Armenia Summit as historic milestones demonstrating the EU’s commitment to Armenia’s democratic resilience;

21.Calls for the EU and its Member States to support Armenia in accelerating its transition towards energy security through targeted investment, technical assistance and enhanced connectivity with European and regional energy networks;

22.Encourages continued efforts towards a comprehensive and lasting peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan as a key factor for regional stability and respect for Armenia’s sovereignty;

23.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the President, Government and Parliament of the Republic of Armenia, the Council of Europe, the United Nations and the Russian authorities.