After the fall of the Soviet Union, Armenia retained strong ties with Russia, while at the same time attempting to find areas of political, economic and social cooperation with the European Union. The relations between the EU and Armenia are governed through the framework of the EU-Armenia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement signed in 1996 and implemented in 1999. With the continued enlargement of the EU, the European Neighbourhood Policy Instrument was launched, and was joined by Armenia in 2004. Specifically, the Armenian government finally adopted the ENPI on 14 November 2006. A National Indicative Programme (NIP) was also adopted by Armenia, covering the period from 2007 to 2010 with a total sum of 98.4 million euro allocated. Along with the ENPI national programme, Armenia has benefited from the ENPI regional and interregional programmes and from other thematic programmes such as the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR). [...]