EU Commission presents accession roadmaps for Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine

Centre · 1On Wednesday 4 November 2026 the European Commission presented indicative accession roadmaps for Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine, as part of its 2026 Enlargement Package. 1 Centre · 1The package takes stock of enlargement partners' progress over the past year and identifies reform priorities. The roadmaps set milestones and targets for the four countries, which the Commission says have made "significant progress" by opening negotiation clusters and provisionally closing chapters. 1 Centre · 1Montenegro is the furthest ahead, with 21 negotiating chapters provisionally closed and the remainder possibly closed by the end of this year. Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos told the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee that work on its accession treaty is under way and that it is on track to become the 28th member in 2028. 1

Centre · 1Albania opened its last negotiation cluster and met interim rule-of-law benchmarks, which opens the way to provisionally closing four chapters. The Commission said it could conclude negotiations by 2027, provided reform momentum and inclusive political dialogue are maintained. 1 Centre · 1Moldova met the conditions to open all remaining clusters and aims to conclude negotiations by early 2028. Ukraine also met those conditions, and the Commission named rule of law, democratic institutions and public administration reform as its key priorities. 1 Left · 1Politico, as relayed by Meduza, reported that the Ukraine roadmap is "more cautious" and sets no target date for membership. It calls on Kyiv to "urgently and significantly step up the pace of the rule of law reforms" in the coming months. 2

Left · 1According to that report, the document expects Ukraine to complete negotiations on only seven of 35 clusters by 2027, among them education and culture, intellectual property, industrial policy and security policy. It says Ukraine lags behind Moldova, which is expected to complete more than 20 areas by 2027. 2 Left · 1Meduza adds context: the first peace plan drafted by US special envoy Steve Witkoff envisioned Ukraine joining the EU by 2027. Kyiv welcomed that date, but EU officials have consistently called it unrealistic. 2 Centre · 1Alongside the roadmaps, the Commission presented a common framework for gradual integration, to bring candidates closer to the bloc before membership in sectors such as energy, transport, digital technologies and defence. Kos said gradual integration dialogues with partners will begin in the first quarter of next year to assess existing measures and their financing. 1

Centre · 1The Commission's assessments of other countries were less positive. Serbia made no substantive progress, North Macedonia has not adopted the constitutional amendments it committed to, Bosnia and Herzegovina is hampered by political divisions, and Kosovo's process has stalled amid an institutional crisis. Georgia's process is "de facto halted", and the Commission keeps its assessment that it is a candidate "in name only". 1