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On May 4, 2026, Yerevan will host the 8th summit of the European Political Community, EPC. It will be held at the sports and concert complex named after Karen Demirchyan, "Building the future. unity and stability in Europe" under the slogan.
According to open, preliminary data, 3.5 million dollars will be spent from the RA state budget. Zhoghovurd daily learned from the Summit's official website that the May 4 event will be co-chaired by the President of the European Council, Antoniou Koshta, and RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The European Political Community is a format whose purpose is to deepen political dialogue and cooperation between the countries of the European continent on issues of common interest.
The official website of the European Council states that strengthening the security, stability and well-being of Europe is one of the goals of the EPC. Who will participate According to official data, 48 heads of states and governments have been invited to participate in the 8th summit to be held in Yerevan. The list of invitees includes the 27 EU member states, as well as Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. participation. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was invited as a guest, and according to the official statement of the European Council, this is the first time that a non-European country participates in the EPC summit. On the EU side, the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will also be in Yerevan. they will participate in the EPC meeting on May 4, and the first Armenia-EU bilateral summit held in Yerevan on May 4-5.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that he is waiting for all members of the European political community, including the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. Regarding the Turkish side, it was announced that the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was also invited to the meeting in Yerevan. What is the agenda? The official agenda focuses on three main directions: democratic resistance, connectivity, as well as economic and energy security. The website of the European Council states that in the conditions of profound geopolitical changes, the leaders will discuss how to cooperate more closely and coordinate actions. The planned program is as follows: on the evening of May 3, a dinner for leaders on behalf of Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and on May 4, arrivals, opening ceremony, family photo, opening plenary session, informal lunch, bilateral and multilateral meetings, round tables, closing plenary session and press statements.
The summit will also precede the first Armenia-EU bilateral summit, which will also be held in Yerevan on May 4-5. At that meeting, Armenia will be represented by Nikol Pashinyan, and the EU by Antoniou Kosta and Ursula von der Leyen.  Why is this summit important for Armenia? The holding of such a format in Yerevan has not only ceremonial but also political significance for Armenia. According to the press release of the RA Prime Minister's office, Nikol Pashinyan stated on April 6 during the discussion of organizational issues that the summit to be held on May 4 in Yerevan is a large-scale event and has great political significance for Armenia's international reputation.
From Armenia's point of view, this is also an opportunity to receive leaders of European and neighboring countries on one platform, especially against the background of regional security, the Armenia-Azerbaijan process, Armenia-EU relations, energy and economic ties, as well as the issue of communication channels. Who covers the costs According to the published data, the main costs of organizing the summit are covered by the state budget of Armenia. In October 2025, the head of the Prime Minister's Office Arayik Harutyunyan announced that 1 billion drams are planned for the 8th summit of the European Political Community to be held in Yerevan in the 2026 state budget.
In addition, on March 19, 2026, the government decided to allocate 350 million drams from the reserve fund of the RA government to "Sports concert complex named after Karen Demirchyan" CJSC, for the purpose of urgent works necessary for the proper holding of the summit.
In general, according to available open data, about 3.5 million dollars will be spent to host European guests in Armenia for 2-3 days.
It is clear from the reports of the government and the Prime Minister's office that the Armenian side has carried out organizational work in the directions of infrastructure, technical equipment, logistical access and preparation of the event venue. However, the full disclosure of the travel expenses, security or individual internal expenses of the delegations of the participating countries is not fully presented in the official publications at this time.
