Armenia among 11 non-EU countries that align themselves with Council Decision on restrictive measures against serious human rights violations

11 non-EU states, including Armenia, have aligned themselves with the EU Council Decision on restrictive measures against serious human rights violations, a statement by EU High Representative Josep Borrell reads.

As part of this regime, a ban on entry into the EU and the freezing of financial assets on the territory of EU countries have been imposed against citizens, law enforcement agencies, and companies from Iran, China, North Korea, Russia, Syria and other states.

“On 4 December 2023, the Council adopted Decision (CFSP) 2023/27211, amending Council Decision (CFSP) 2020/1999. The Council extended the application of Decision (CFSP) 2020/1999 until 8 December 2026. The Council renewed the existing restrictive measures for a further twelve months, until 8 December 2024, and amends the list of persons and entities subject to restrictive measures as set out in the Annex to Decision (CFSP) 2020/1999.

The candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Armenia and Azerbaijan align themselves with this Council Decision,” the statement reads.

Along with this statement, the Council of Europe issued two more press releases with almost identical text: on the alignment of certain countries concerning restrictive measures against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the leadership of the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova. The same countries, as well as Serbia and Georgia, aligned themselves with the Council Decision against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, except Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan, Armenia, Iceland, and Serbia have not aligned themselves with the Council Decision on restrictive measures against the leadership of the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova.

The term “align oneself” does not imply agreement with the general restrictive measures, but a literal transfer of the EU Council Decision into countries’ own legislation. This is a mandatory requirement for all candidate countries for EU membership. Candidates at the legal level are required to consistently align themselves with all EU restrictive measures; without this, they will not be able to make sufficient progress in the EU admission process.