Who Paid for Pashinyan's and His Family's Vacation in Berlin? Government Clarifies

The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, paid for his travel expenses to attend the final match of the UEFA Euro 2024 in Berlin, as well as for additional days' accommodation for himself and his family, using his own funds. This was stated by the public relations department of the Prime Minister's Office in response to a inquiry from Sputnik Armenia.

The presence of Nikol Pashinyan at the final match alongside his wife and several officials had sparked intense discussions within the Armenian social media realm. There were also speculations regarding Pashinyan's, his wife's, and their youngest daughter Arpi's vacation in the German capital. Reports had even surfaced in the media claiming that the trip and vacation were funded by the state budget.

The Armenian government informed the media that the trip to Germany was planned following an invitation from UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin. However, they did not provide a specific timeline for when the invitation was received. At the same time, they emphasized that the travel expenses for the Prime Minister were covered by his own account.

The per diem and lodging expenses for the accompanying delegation members were paid from the state budget to the extent provided for by a governmental decision made on December 29, 2005. According to this decision, for official travel to Germany, specifically Berlin, the per diem amounts to 90 euros, while the lodging cost is 134 euros per day.

“The Prime Minister of Armenia attended the UEFA Euro 2024 final match with his wife, and Araik Harutyunyan was also present at the invitation of the UEFA President, for which no payment was made,” the statement added.

It is worth noting that on July 14, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan flew to Berlin with his family members, his wife Anna Hakobyan and their youngest daughter Arpi, to watch the Euro 2024 final match between Spain and England live from the stadium. On that day, Pashinyan indicated that he had met with UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, who had invited them to Berlin to watch the game.