Armenia could formally apply to join the European Union in 2027, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said, setting out the clearest timetable yet for a membership bid that would pull Yerevan further from Moscow's orbit.

Pashinyan was speaking at the EU Enlargement Summit in Brussels on Tuesday, organised by Euronews. Asked whether Yerevan could file an application before the end of this year, he said: "I don't know how realistic it is this year, but next year it may be realistic, in 2028 it may be realistic."

He said recent signals from Brussels suggested a genuine political will for further enlargement, and that Armenia's expectations and the EU's could now align. Armenia adopted a law in 2025 declaring the start of a process of accession to the EU, and Pashinyan said the government was also working towards visa-free travel with the bloc by 2029.

The Russian trade bloc dilemma

The timetable comes with a difficult economic choice. Armenia remains a member of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union, whose customs arrangements are incompatible with full participation in the EU's single market. Pashinyan has acknowledged that Armenia cannot stay in both organisations indefinitely.

Moscow has warned that Yerevan risks losing its membership of the Eurasian bloc, and a report prepared by the bloc's members in October effectively recommended suspending Armenia, with a warning that exports of Armenian goods could fall by 30 to 50 percent if membership were suspended.

Pashinyan said he would continue to seek EU accession despite the threats, describing the European direction as a way to strengthen Armenian democracy and independence. He added that two of Armenia's four neighbours, Georgia and Turkey, are already EU candidate countries, and said he hoped Armenia would become the third. No formal application has yet been filed.