An explanation for those who have heard the term “visa liberalization” but do not fully understand what it actually means.

In September 2024, Brussels and Yerevan launched a process that has been mentioned dozens of times over the past year: the Visa Liberalisation Dialogue. It sounds promising, and many interpreted it as meaning that Armenia would soon have a visa-free regime with the European Union.

In reality, the process is far more complex, and that complexity has led to numerous misunderstandings. These range from overly optimistic expectations—such as the belief that Armenians would be able to travel to Europe without visas within a year—to an underestimation of what has, in fact, already changed.

Full article can be found here։

The author of this article is Diana Arushanyan, a journalist from News.am within the framework of the “EU–Armenia Strategic Partnership and Visa Liberalization Dialogue” program, implemented jointly by the Public Journalism Club and the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia.

It should be noted that on March 26–27 of this year, Diana Arushanyan participated in a two-day seminar in Aghveran under the same program title. Within the framework of the seminar, 11 representatives of Armenian media outlets met with Vassilis Maragos, Ambassador of the European Union to Armenia, as well as ambassadors and consuls of EU member states and representatives of Armenian state institutions, to discuss the progress of EU–Armenia cooperation, including visa-related issues.