EU Planning Assistance Team in Armenia

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The European Union Planning Assistance Team in Armenia (EUPAT) was a short-term EU effort to see if a longer civilian EU mission could operate in Armenia. It followed the EU Monitoring Capacity to Armenia (EUMCAP), which began on October 6, 2022 and started operating on October 20 to monitor the Armenia–Azerbaijan border. EUMCAP finished on December 19, 2022, and EUPAT started the next day, December 20, 2022, led by Marcin Wydra. After EUMCAP ended, some personnel from the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia joined EUPAT to help prepare for a possible longer-term mission in Armenia.

The aim of EUPAT was to improve the EU’s understanding of security conditions, assist in planning for a potential civilian CSDP mission, and support EU-facilitated Armenia–Azerbaijan normalization efforts.

In December 2022, EU officials said a permanent EU mission could help the EU be a credible mediator in the Armenia–Azerbaijan conflict. In January 2023, Armenian officials and EUPAT discussed a longer-term EU presence. On January 23, 2023, the EU Council decided to establish a longer-term civilian mission, the European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA).