YEREVAN — The European Union announced on Monday the launch of a new and more long-term monitoring mission to Armenia’s volatile border with Azerbaijan which is strongly opposed by Russia.
It said that the 100 or so monitors sent by various EU member states will strive to “contribute to stability in the border areas of Armenia, build confidence and human security in conflict affected areas, and ensure an environment conducive to the normalization efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”
“The total — exclusively civilian — staff of the EUMA [EU Mission in Armenia] will be approximately 100, including around 50 unarmed observers,” the EU added in a statement.
It did not specify whether the other members of the two-year mission will carry weapons. Recent news reports said that the EU monitors will include officers of the German police and the French gendarmerie.
The EU already deployed 40 civilian monitors to Armenian border areas in late October on a two-month mission agreed during an Armenian-Azerbaijani summit in in Prague. The agreement followed the September border clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces which left more than 300 soldiers dead.
The EUMA was formally established by a Council Decision on 23 January 2023. The Operational Headquarters of the mission will be in Yeghegnadzor, in Armenia’s Vayots Dzor province. EEAS Managing Director of the Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC) Stefano Tomat will serve as the Civilian Operation Commander, while Markus Ritter will serve as the Head of Mission.
About European Union Mission in Armenia
EU Mission in Armenia launches a new phase in the EU’s engagement in the South Caucasus. The EU Mission in Armenia is tasked with observing and reporting on the situation on the ground; contributing to human security in conflict-affected areas and based on the above, contributing to build confidence between populations of both Armenia and Azerbaijan and, where possible, their authorities.
The Mission has a two-year mandate and will involve up to 100 staff, including EU experts and monitors. It will become fully operational in the coming weeks.
The EU established the Mission in response to an official request by the Armenian authorities to deploy a full-fledged EU civilian mission on the ground. This deployment follows the successful experience of the EU Monitoring Capacity (EUMCAP) deployed previously on the Armenian side of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border between 20 October 2022 and 19 December 2022. The EU Mission in Armenia is expected to support the EU’s efforts to promote peace, including President of the European Council Michel’s facilitated leaders’ meetings.
EUMA will be deployed in several locations across Armenia’s territory, in border regions with Azerbaijan. Its area of operation will cover the entire length of the border with Azerbaijan, including the Nakhchivan section. EUMA’s headquarters will be established in Yeghegnadzor. It will have several field offices and also a separate liaison office in Yerevan.
Born 1962, married, two children
Dr. Markus Ritter, Head of Mission of the European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA), is a senior police officer with extensive experience on national and international level. During his 27 years of professional career with the German Federal Police, he held various leadership positions on executive and staff level. Initially commanding a crowd and riot police Battalion 1997/1998, he headed various Federal Border Guard sections, succeeded by the position as Deputy Director of the Border Guard Department at Frankfurt Airport 2002 – 2004. Following two years as Head of Section for International Police Cooperation at the Federal Police Central Office in Koblenz 2006/2007, he served 2008 – 2012 as Head of a regional Border Police Department in Kaiserslautern and 2014 as Senior Officer at the Federal Police Central Office in Potsdam. In 2014 Ritter was appointed Vice President of the Regional Federal Police Directorate Frankfurt International Airport, succeeded by his promotion to President of the Regional Federal Police Directorate Stuttgart in 2020, where he stayed until February 2023.
Moreover, Ritter gained extensive experience during five international deployments:
2004/2005 as Chief of Staff for UNMIK/Kosovo, 2007/2008 as Chief of Staff for UNOMIG/Georgia, 2009 – 2011 as Head of German Police Project Team (GPPT) in Afghanistan, 2012/2013 as Head of Planning and Operations for European Union Aviation Security Mission (EUAVSEC) in Juba, South Sudan and from 2017 – 2019 as Head of Mission for the European Union Advisory Mission (EUAM) in Bagdad, Iraq. In February 2023 he was appointed Head of Mission of the EUMA.
His academic background is as follows:
1989 – 1994 he studied law at Heidelberg University and holds a Master’s degree in Law (First State Examination in Law). 1995/1996 Legal clerkship at the District Court of Heidelberg to obtain the Second State Examination in Law in 1996 and parallel post-graduate studies of Administrative Sciences at the German University of Administrative Sciences in Speyer. He holds an M.A. in Administrative Sciences since 1996. 1999 Doctorate (PhD) at the German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer.
- Follow the link to download this biographical information of Dr. Markus Ritter as a PDF.
