First posted on Instagram · @profilopolitics
The European Commission, in its annual enlargement package presented on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, has urged Ukraine to urgently and significantly accelerate the pace of reforms in the rule of law, and to meet the interim benchmarks in that area in the first half of 2027 before negotiations in individual policy areas can be provisionally closed.
The Commission's indicative roadmap for Ukraine identifies seven negotiating chapters that could be provisionally closed in 2027: education and culture in the first half of the year, followed in the second half by intellectual property, employment and social policy, industrial policy, research, external relations, and foreign and security policy.
Ukraine has opened four of its six negotiating clusters over the past year, most recently the internal-market and competitiveness clusters on October 13, covering 17 chapters. The Commission wants the two remaining clusters — the green agenda and sustainable connectivity, and resources, agriculture and cohesion — opened by the end of 2026.
The Commission assessed that Ukraine's specialised anti-corruption institutions continue to operate overall independently and effectively, and said the focus now should be on meeting the interim benchmarks on the rule of law, delivering the roadmaps on the rule of law, the functioning of democratic institutions and public administration reform, and the action plan on national minorities. It said Ukraine must keep accelerating reforms to be in a position to meet its ambitious objective of closing accession negotiations by the end of 2028.
Ukraine's Prime Minister, Serhii Koretskyi, said on Tuesday, November 3, at the Euronews Enlargement Summit that Kyiv plans to receive a positive assessment of the interim benchmarks in early 2027, and identified judicial reform, anti-corruption efforts and public administration as priorities. A joint task force between Ukraine and the Commission is working to speed up that work.
The roadmap sets no date for Ukraine's actual membership, and the Commission describes it as a living document that can be updated as negotiations and reforms progress. Provisional closure of chapters is not membership: an accession treaty would still have to be approved, signed by Ukraine and every existing member state, and ratified. The final pace rests with the member states in the Council.
The cautious pace for Ukraine contrasts with Moldova, whose bid has long advanced in parallel: Moldova could provisionally conclude negotiations in more than 20 chapters in 2027, raising the prospect that the two countries' paths could effectively be decoupled.
Background for first-time readers: Ukraine applied for EU membership on February 28, 2022, four days after Russia's full-scale invasion, received candidate status in June 2022, and formally began accession negotiations in June 2024. Joining requires aligning laws and institutions with EU standards across 35 negotiating chapters.
Join us on Telegram — t.me/profilopoliticsnews