Understanding Europeanization in Georgia and Armenia - Discourses, Perceptions and the Impact on Bilateral Relations
Keywords:
Europeanization, Armenia, Georgia, EU, Association agreement, Russia, Customs Union, EurAsEC, discourses, bilateral relationsAbstract
Post-Soviet Georgia and Armenia have a long history of cooperation with the European Union (EU). With the aim of deepening bilateral ties with the EU, both countries were included in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) program. Since 2009, the European Union began negotiating the Association Agreement, including a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) with Georgia and Armenia. Several reforms have been conducted to converge their policy to that of the European Union. But the geopolitical climate has changed significantly.
On 3 September 2013, when the Agreement was finalized in Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, President of the Republic of Armenia, made an unexpected announcement about the decision to join the Russian-led Eurasian Customs Union instead of signing an Association Agreement with the EU. Armenian membership in the EurAsEC Customs Union would be incompatible with the agreements negotiated with the EU1. Thus, the Armenia–EU Association Agreement was called off by Armenia in early September 2013, though a revised agreement is still under consideration. Unlike Armenia, EU membership still stays the top priority in the Georgian political agenda and Georgia signed the EU association agreement in 2014.
Despite these geopolitical changes, both Armenia and Georgia are continuing their Europeanization and European integration.
This paper investigates how Europeanization is perceived in Armenia and Georgia, and the different impetuses of Europeanization in the two countries. The research aims to analyze the extent to which the understanding of Europeanization affects Georgia-Armenia bilateral relations. The study shows that Europeanization seems to be an effective tool for the convergence of Georgian and Armenian policies despite the fact that the essence of Europeanization is substantially different in both countries. The research also aims to show how some fields in Armenia “have suffered” as a result of the decision not to sign the Association Agreement. However, the analysis does not reflect the complete picture as it is too early to give a precise assessment, since Armenia and the EU are in an ongoing negotiation over a modified association agreement.
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