Today, the European Union (EU) informed the Government of Armenia about the disbursement of € 35.6 million in grants to support Armenia in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The EU’s decision follows a positive assessment on progress in selected sector reform areas, macroeconomic stability, public financial management and state budget transparency.

It is part of the EU € 92 million assistance package for Armenia announced last April, which included restructured and new funds to support Armenia in its fight against the COVID-19 crisis, in order to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the Armenian people.

This direct financial contribution recognizes and supports the Government commendable efforts to preserve jobs and support SMEs, as well as to ensure basic health and social services for those most affected by COVID-19. This assistance announced today is complementary to other instruments of support with CSOs and European financial institutions to assist vulnerable households and businesses.

H.E. Mher Grigoryan, Deputy Prime Minister, said: “As the world faces a multi-layered crisis caused by COVID-19 pandemic, we highly appreciate the EU’s support to tackle the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic in Armenia. This timely allocation is the manifestation of our productive cooperation with the European Union and I’m sure that our joint efforts will result in increased COVID-19 crisis resilience of Armenia.”

H.E. Andrea Wiktorin, EU Head of Delegation, said: “This direct budget support disbursement is once again a very tangible demonstration of the EU and its citizens’ strong commitment to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in Armenia. The European Union and its Member States are contributing to strengthen the health systems and meet the urgent human & economic implications of COVID-19 in Armenia. We share the challenge and we can only succeed together”.

The EU’s response follows a Team Europe approach, aimed at saving lives by providing quick and targeted support to our partners to face this pandemic. It combines resources from the EU, its Member States and European financial institutions to support partner countries and address their short-term needs, as well as the longer-term structural impacts on societies and the economy.