Europeupdated 52m ago2 min read
Archive photo · 15 February 2015European Commission Sets Accession Roadmaps, Urges Ukraine To Accelerate Reforms By End Of 2028
“The EU has refrained from predicting when the leading EU candidate countries will complete their accession negotiations”
“Kiev still needs to accelerate the pace of reform to achieve the goal of completing negotiations by the end of 2028.”
Photo: BSRF, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped for layout
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EC unveils roadmaps for Ukraine, Moldova, Montenegro and Albania outlining next-stage milestones. Ukraine urged to accelerate reforms with target of completing negotiations by end-2028.
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EU sets 2028 deadline
The European Commission presented accession roadmaps for Ukraine and three other EU membership candidates, urging Kyiv to accelerate reforms to meet its goal of concluding negotiations by the end of 2028. The Commission said Ukraine has opened four groups of negotiating chapters over the past year and meets the conditions to open all remaining groups, while also calling on Kyiv to focus on rule-of-law benchmarks, democratic institutions, public administration reform and an action plan on national minorities.
The Commission said Montenegro was closest to completing talks, having provisionally closed 21 negotiating chapters, and it said Montenegro could close the remaining chapters by the end of this year with work on its accession treaty already underway. The Commission said Albania aims to conclude negotiations in 2027 and Moldova is targeting early 2028, while stressing that progress toward membership depends on reforms.
Moldova seen ahead
The European Commission held up Moldova as a model for other EU-aspirant states, with enlargement commissioner Marta Kos telling press in Brussels that Moldova was “the best performer” showing “strong determination” to implement reforms. Kaja Kallas said, “For the first time, we have opponents who are interfering in our accession process,” as she spoke alongside Kos about Russian interference in Moldova’s accession process.
The Commission said Albania, Moldova and Montenegro were “on track” for EU accession by 2030, while it also said Ukraine’s 2028 target remained “ambitious” given the size of the country. Michael Gahler told EUobserver the 2028 timeline was “achievable”, if “necessary reforms continue at pace”, while he added that Ukraine had yet to open EU talks on integrating its massive agricultural sector into the single market.
What comes next
The European Commission said it would not automatically make Ukraine an EU member even if Kyiv completes accession negotiations, because accession would still require further decisions and approval by EU member states. The European Commission also proposed a framework for gradually integrating candidate countries into EU policies and programs before they become members, particularly in energy, transport, digital technologies and defense.
The Commission’s roadmap set out indicative milestones for 2027 and said the roadmaps may be adjusted depending on each country’s progress, while the EU Council would consider the Commission’s recommendations and decide on the next steps. The Commission urged Kyiv to “urgently and significantly step up the pace of the rule of law reforms,” and it said meeting key requirements in the first half of 2027 was necessary before negotiations in individual policy areas could be provisionally concluded.
