Key facts
- The Commission calls on Kyiv to urgently step up rule of law reforms, with key requirements due in the first half of 2027.
- Ukraine could provisionally complete negotiations in seven policy areas in 2027, the document shows.
- Moldova could complete negotiations in more than 20 policy areas, raising the prospect of decoupling the two bids.
- The Commission wants talks on Ukraine's stalled cluster 4 and cluster 5 to begin by the end of 2026.
- Montenegro is the exception among frontrunners, with June 2027 envisaged as a target for signing an accession treaty.
The European Commission is preparing a more cautious roadmap for Ukraine's EU accession negotiations, setting limited targets for progress in 2027 and avoiding any commitment to a membership date, according to a document obtained by POLITICO.
In the document, Brussels calls on Kyiv to "urgently and significantly step up the pace of the rule of law reforms." Meeting key requirements in this area in the first half of 2027 is necessary before negotiations in individual policy areas can be provisionally concluded, the roadmap says.
The document, part of the Commission's enlargement package to be presented on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, identifies seven policy areas in which Ukraine could provisionally complete negotiations next year. Education and culture is targeted for the first half of 2027, followed by intellectual property, employment and social policy, industrial policy, research, external relations, and foreign and security policy in the second half.
The roadmap also shows a growing divergence between Ukraine and Moldova, whose membership bids have long advanced in parallel. While Brussels targets progress in seven policy areas for Ukraine in 2027, Moldova could complete negotiations in more than 20, the document shows.
Joining the EU requires candidate countries to align laws and institutions with EU standards across 35 negotiating areas, known as chapters. The Commission acknowledges the changes are complex and require extensive consultations, time and resources, and has established a dedicated task force to support Ukrainian authorities.
The Commission is careful not to commit to an end date for Ukraine's accession negotiations, taking a similar approach toward Albania and Moldova. Montenegro is the exception, with June 2027 envisaged as a target for signing an accession treaty. Ukraine's roadmap describes itself as a "living document" that can be updated as talks progress.
The Commission also wants talks on Ukraine's two stalled negotiating clusters to begin by the end of 2026: cluster 4, covering the green agenda and sustainable connectivity, and cluster 5, covering resources, agriculture and cohesion. The document states the Commission considers Ukraine to have met the necessary conditions and urges the accession conference to make every effort to open the outstanding clusters before the end of the year.