"Armenia's European Dream: Pashinyan's Vision at the Crossroads" by Carlo Coppola
"Armenia today holds a place among Europe's democratic nations." With these words, Nikol Pashinyan addressed the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE 2025), further outlining his "European dream" for the Caucasian nation historically caught between East and West. The Prime Minister described the Council of Europe as a "home" where democratic Armenia rightfully belongs. This statement appears to mark a departure from the post-Soviet orbit and other alliances—perhaps even from the American president who recently referred to the Armenian premier as "that other one," while recalling the name of Azerbaijan's autocrat.
Pashinyan emphasized the democratic progress made since 2018: free elections, women in leadership positions, and 43% economic growth. The centerpiece of his speech was the peace agreement with Azerbaijan, signed in Washington on August 8. "Peace requires daily care," he declared. Yet the reality is more complex: Pashinyan has acknowledged that the return of Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh is unrealistic, definitively closing a painful chapter that the Armenian opposition views as a symbol of capitulation, if not outright collusion with the enemy.
The European identity Pashinyan claims appears to be a lifeline for an Armenia that has lost Nagorno-Karabakh and seeks new geopolitical allies—while being careful not to exchange old patrons for new "mafia godfathers." He firmly rejected the term "Zangezur corridor," imposed by Azerbaijan, defending it as an attack on Armenian sovereignty.
This "Somnium Nicolai" also reveals certain contradictions: Pashinyan distrusts the Armenian opposition, accusing it of spreading disinformation with foreign funding—an argument, however, also employed by the authoritarian governments he himself criticizes. According to the Armenian government's investigations, there is substantial evidence of such behavior, but in today's geopolitical landscape, the anonymous sponsor may not be singular. With next year's elections approaching, political tensions in Armenia are intensifying.
Pashinyan's vision of Europe centers on institutions and democratic values, but democracy requires genuine care and balance—as outlined in Cicero's Dream of Scipio—not just passion. Today, such trust seems impossible, and memories of the violence and abuses of the 2000s—when part of the current opposition was in power—remain too vivid. Whether this value-based, democratic European dream will become a shared reality or remain the aspiration of an isolated leader and his more or less substantial circle of supporters remains to be seen.
Carlo Coppola
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