Protesters are holding rallies in several European Union countries to demand tougher action against global warming, as the 28-nation bloc votes to fill the European Parliament.
Thousands attended a rally Friday in Berlin, where mostly young people waved banners with slogans such as "There is no planet B" or "Plant trees, save the bees, clean the seas."
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Young demonstrators take part in a demonstration organised by 'Global Strike 4 Climate' beneath the Monument of the Unknown Soldier, in Rome, Friday, May 24, 2019. (Maurizio BrambattiANSA via AP)
Young demonstrators take part in a demonstration organised by 'Global Strike 4 Climate' beneath the Monument of the Unknown Soldier, in Rome, Friday, May 24, 2019. (Maurizio BrambattiANSA via AP)
A toy monkey wears a banner as young demonstrators take part in a demonstration organised by 'Global Strike 4 Climate' in Parliament Square in London, Friday, May 24, 2019. (AP PhotoKirsty Wigglesworth)
Young demonstrators take part in a demonstration organised by 'Global Strike 4 Climate' near Parliament in London, Friday, May 24, 2019. (AP PhotoKirsty Wigglesworth)
Young demonstrators take part in a demonstration organised by 'Global Strike 4 Climate' near Parliament in London, Friday, May 24, 2019. (AP PhotoKirsty Wigglesworth)
Young protestors hold a sign reading 'vote for the planet because your kids can't' ahead of the European elections during a climate strike of school students as part of the Fridays for Future movement in Frankfurt, Germany, Friday, May 24, 2019. (Boris Roesslerdpa via AP)
A protestor holds a symbolic earth in his hand during a climate strike of school students as part of the Fridays for Future movements Muenster, Germany, Friday, March 24, 2019. (Guido Kirchnerdpa via AP)
Young demonstrators take part in a demonstration organised by 'Global Strike 4 Climate' in Parliament Square in London, Friday, May 24, 2019. (AP PhotoKirsty Wigglesworth)
Young climate activists demonstrate in front of the Finnish Parliament building in Helsinki, Finland, Friday May 24, 2019, a global day of student protests aiming to spark world leaders into action on climate change. (Vesa MoilanenLehtikuva via AP)
Thousands of students demonstrate front of the Credit Suisse bank during a « Climate strike » protest in Lausanne, Switzerland, Friday, May 24, 2019. Students from several countries worldwide plan to skip class Friday in protest over their governments' failure to act against global warming. (Jean-Christophe BottKeystone via AP)
People take part in the demonstration Global Strike for Climate, in Stockholm, Sweden, Friday, May 24, 2019. (Janerik HenrikssonTT News Agency via AP)
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg takes part in the demonstration Global Strike for Climate, in Stockholm, Sweden, Friday, May 24, 2019. (Janerik HenrikssonTT News Agency via AP)
A young protestor takes part in a demonstration organised by 'Global Strike 4 Climate' in Parliament Square in London, Friday, May 24, 2019. (AP PhotoKirsty Wigglesworth)
Many protesters will be too young to vote when Germans cast ballots Sunday in the European Parliament election, but are pressing family and older friends to consider the world's long-term future.
Young demonstrators take part in a demonstration organised by 'Global Strike 4 Climate' beneath the Monument of the Unknown Soldier, in Rome, Friday, May 24, 2019. (Maurizio BrambattiANSA via AP)
Clara Kirchhoff said the election for the EU's 751-seat assembly was particularly important for tackling climate change on a continental level.
The 17-year-old says "there's no point in Germany doing a lot for the climate and others not pulling their weight."
Young demonstrators take part in a demonstration organised by 'Global Strike 4 Climate' beneath the Monument of the Unknown Soldier, in Rome, Friday, May 24, 2019. (Maurizio BrambattiANSA via AP)
A toy monkey wears a banner as young demonstrators take part in a demonstration organised by 'Global Strike 4 Climate' in Parliament Square in London, Friday, May 24, 2019. (AP PhotoKirsty Wigglesworth)
Young demonstrators take part in a demonstration organised by 'Global Strike 4 Climate' near Parliament in London, Friday, May 24, 2019. (AP PhotoKirsty Wigglesworth)
Young demonstrators take part in a demonstration organised by 'Global Strike 4 Climate' near Parliament in London, Friday, May 24, 2019. (AP PhotoKirsty Wigglesworth)
Young protestors hold a sign reading 'vote for the planet because your kids can't' ahead of the European elections during a climate strike of school students as part of the Fridays for Future movement in Frankfurt, Germany, Friday, May 24, 2019. (Boris Roesslerdpa via AP)
A protestor holds a symbolic earth in his hand during a climate strike of school students as part of the Fridays for Future movements Muenster, Germany, Friday, March 24, 2019. (Guido Kirchnerdpa via AP)
Young demonstrators take part in a demonstration organised by 'Global Strike 4 Climate' in Parliament Square in London, Friday, May 24, 2019. (AP PhotoKirsty Wigglesworth)
Young climate activists demonstrate in front of the Finnish Parliament building in Helsinki, Finland, Friday May 24, 2019, a global day of student protests aiming to spark world leaders into action on climate change. (Vesa MoilanenLehtikuva via AP)
Thousands of students demonstrate front of the Credit Suisse bank during a « Climate strike » protest in Lausanne, Switzerland, Friday, May 24, 2019. Students from several countries worldwide plan to skip class Friday in protest over their governments' failure to act against global warming. (Jean-Christophe BottKeystone via AP)
People take part in the demonstration Global Strike for Climate, in Stockholm, Sweden, Friday, May 24, 2019. (Janerik HenrikssonTT News Agency via AP)
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg takes part in the demonstration Global Strike for Climate, in Stockholm, Sweden, Friday, May 24, 2019. (Janerik HenrikssonTT News Agency via AP)
A young protestor takes part in a demonstration organised by 'Global Strike 4 Climate' in Parliament Square in London, Friday, May 24, 2019. (AP PhotoKirsty Wigglesworth)
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia hosts its first bilateral summit with the European Union on Tuesday, a landmark diplomatic moment for the Caucasus Mountains nation that has formally declared its ambition to join the bloc and is cautiously loosening its ties with longtime ally Russia.
The EU-Armenia summit in Yerevan follows the eighth gathering of the European Political Community, or EPC, which brought dozens of European leaders to the Armenian capital on Monday to address European defense issues and the Iran war.
Meanwhile, Tuesday's bilateral meeting saw Armenia and the EU sign a connectivity partnership to strengthen economic ties and deepen security cooperation.
The two events underscore how Armenia is seeking to turn westward and shed Russia's influence. Armenia’s relations with Moscow, its longtime sponsor and ally, have grown increasingly strained since 2023, when neighboring Azerbaijan fully reclaimed the Karabakh region and ended the decadeslong rule by ethnic Armenian separatists.
Armenian authorities accused Russian peacekeepers who were deployed to the region of failing to stop Azerbaijan’s onslaught. Moscow, busy with the war in Ukraine, rejected the accusations, arguing that its troops didn’t have a mandate to intervene.
The war was “a belated demonstration that Russia is dangerously unreliable as a partner,” Richard Giragosian, director of the Regional Studies Center in Yerevan, told The Associated Press.
Since then, the government of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has pursued closer ties with the West, a move welcomed by the 27-nation EU.
The opening ceremony of the EU-Armenia summit on Tuesday saw European Council President António Costa walk the red carpet side by side with Pashinyan and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, while a military band played in front of Armenian and EU flags.
In her opening statement, von der Leyen said that Europe was ready to aid Armenia in becoming a regional hub for global trade routes, including the building of physical infrastructure.
“We’re ready to invest in the local energy production and the energy links across the Black Sea, and we are ready to connect your booming digital scene to Europe’s digital market and turn Armenia’s position at the heart of this region into a motor of growth,” she said.
The new EU-Armenia connectivity partnership will focus on strengthening transportation, energy and digital links. Meanwhile, EU investments in Armenia are expected to reach 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion) under its global gateway infrastructure program, both sides said in a joint statement.
“Today’s EU-Armenia summit sends a clear signal of the EU’s firm commitment to deepen our relations with Armenia, and to strengthen cooperation across many new areas,” Costa said. “Bringing Armenia and its people closer to the European Union.”
The EU, rather than the United States, has stepped into the vacuum left by Russia, Giragosian said.
“EU engagement is much more prudent and much more productive than the U.S. becoming involved, simply because European engagement is less provocative to Russia over the longer term,” he said.
In 2025, Armenia's parliament passed a law formally declaring the country’s intention to seek EU membership.
However, Giragosian described Tuesday’s summit as “a focus on deepening the preexisting relationship” rather than a step toward candidacy, referencing the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement that has governed EU-Armenia ties since fully taking effect in 2021.
“The symbolic significance is much greater as a message to Russia,” he said.
Armenia has also taken other symbolic steps. It joined the International Criminal Court in 2023, a move that Moscow condemned as an “unfriendly step.” The court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.
Armenia also froze its participation in the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization in 2024.
However, Armenia remains a member of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union, or EEU, a single market allowing the free movement of goods, capital and labor. The organization also includes Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan — and Putin has made the trade-offs plain.
Speaking at talks with Pashinyan in Moscow earlier this year, Putin warned that Armenia couldn't simultaneously belong to both the EEU and the EU, noting that Yerevan currently receives Russian natural gas at prices far below European market rates. Pashinyan acknowledged the incompatibility, but said that Armenia could, for now, combine EEU membership with deepening EU cooperation.
Pashinyan, who has been in office since 2018 and faces a parliamentary election in June, stands to benefit politically from the international profile of the European meetings. Giragosian said that Pashinyan's government is likely to be reelected largely by default, with the opposition unable to offer a credible alternative program.
But Giragosian warned against framing Armenia’s foreign policy as purely a pivot from Russia to the West.
“Armenia is also pivoting beyond the black and white zero-sum game paradigm,” he said, pointing to significant diplomatic investment in Asia, including with Japan, South Korea and China. “This is not about replacing Russia with the West. This is much more innovative, much more sophisticated.”
The summit also comes at a moment of diplomatic strains between Azerbaijan and the EU. Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the EU ambassador last week to protest a European Parliament resolution demanding the release of Armenian prisoners of war and criticizing the treatment of Armenians in Karabakh. Lawmakers in Azerbaijan subsequently voted to suspend all cooperation with the European Parliament.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who addressed the EPC conference via video link, accused the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly for the Council of Europe, or PACE, of “double standards” for placing sanctions on Azerbaijan's delegation.
There were also protests outside the EPC summit venue, which was surrounded by tight security. Demonstrators held photos of Armenian prisoners being held in Azerbaijan.
Opposition leader Aram Sargsyan, head of the Democratic Party of Armenia, told the Armenian Press Agency that the European officials were voicing support for Pashinyan before the election and have “forgotten about the Armenians in prison in Azerbaijan.”
Elise Morton reported from London. Avet Demourian in Yerevan, and Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England, contributed to this report.
From left, European Council President Antonio Costa, Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the conclusion of a media conference during the EU-Armenia summit at the Presidential Palace in Yerevan, Armenia, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Anthony Pizzoferrato)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan talk during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov, Pool, File)
Soldiers stand in formation during an official arrival ceremony for the EU-Armenia summit at the Presidential Palace in Yerevan, Armenia, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Anthony Pizzoferrato)
From center left, European Council President Antonio Costa, Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during the official arrival ceremony for the EU-Armenia summit at the Presidential Palace in Yerevan, Armenia, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Anthony Pizzoferrato)
From left, European Council President Antonio Costa, Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrive for the EU-Armenia summit at the Presidential Palace in Yerevan, Armenia, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Anthony Pizzoferrato)
From left, European Council President Antonio Costa, Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Ireland's Prime Minister Micheál Martin hold up a commemorative stamp as they participate in a media conference during a meeting of the European Political Community in Yerevan, Armenia, Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Anthony Pizzoferrato)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second right, sits opposite Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, second left, and France's President Emmanuel Macron, third left, during the Ukraine multi-lateral meeting, co-chaired by UK and France at the European Political Community summit in Yerevan, Armenia, Monday May 4, 2026. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool Photo via AP)
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, left, shakes hands with Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as he arrives for a meeting of the European Political Community in Yerevan, Armenia, Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Anthony Pizzoferrato)
