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EU Urges Ukraine to Speed Up Rule of Law Reforms for Accession
· Confirmed
In Short: The European Union has reiterated its call for Ukraine to accelerate its rule of law reforms to meet its goal of joining the bloc by 2028.
The European Union has reiterated its call for Ukraine to speed up its rule of law reforms, according to reports from the Centre for European Reform and European Newsroom.
Both publications stress the importance of Ukraine’s commitment to rule of law reforms and the need to reverse negative trends affecting anti-corruption agencies and civil society.
On June 15, 2026, Ukraine and the EU launched formal negotiations on the first of the six ‘clusters’ that make up the acquis communautaire, the body of EU laws and rules with which candidate countries must comply before joining the Union.
The ‘fundamentals cluster’ – always the first cluster to be addressed with candidate countries, and the last to be finalised – deals with the rule of law, democratic institutions, and good governance.
The EU enlargement report presented on Tuesday noted that Kyiv must accept that the EU is not going to short-circuit the accession process for any country.
The report also highlights the need for Ukraine to urgently and significantly step up the pace of rule of law reforms, with meeting key requirements in this area by the first half of 2027 necessary before negotiations in individual policy areas can be provisionally concluded.
The European Commission is preparing a more cautious roadmap for Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations, setting out limited targets for progress in 2027 while avoiding any commitment to a membership date.
Since Ukraine and Moldova applied for EU membership in February 2022, both countries have become official candidate countries and have formally started EU accession negotiations.
The EU and Ukraine have opened accession negotiations, but full membership is still far away, with Ukraine facing many obstacles before joining the bloc.
The European Parliament’s votes on annual accession reports for Ukraine, Moldova, and Serbia have highlighted a growing two-speed reality in EU enlargement policy.
For many MEPs, supporting Ukraine’s accession path is part of a wider effort to stabilise Europe’s eastern flank and limit Russian influence.
The EU is championing Ukraine's future membership louder than ever, but its Nov. 4 annual report on the state of Kyiv's integration process makes clear that the country must get serious about the rule of law.
What this adds
The reports from Centre for European Reform and Kyivindependent agree that Ukraine must accept that the EU will not bypass the standard accession process.
Background
The reports from Centre for European Reform and Kyivindependent agree that Ukraine must accept that the EU will not bypass the standard accession process.
What's confirmed
- Brussels (dpa) – Ukraine must accelerate reforms if it is to meet its self-imposed goal of completing the EU accession process by the end of 2028, according to an EU enlargement report presented on Tuesday.
- Montenegro, which started accession talks in 2012, is seen as the frontrunner among the six countries of the Western Balkan region, with negotiations potentially concluding by the end of 2026 if reforms continue, while Albania could finish by the end of 2027.
- BRUSSELS — The European Commission is preparing a more cautious roadmap for Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations, setting out limited targets for progress in 2027 while avoiding any commitment to a membership date, according to a document obtained by POLITICO.
What's still developing
- Ukraine and the EU must implement necessary reforms, while the EU must find a quicker way to respond to the geopolitical imperative of keeping Ukraine in its camp.
- 28, 2022, just four days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
- The Montreal summit launched work on a deeper partnership.
- Between 2000 and 2002, it took Lithuania, Latvia and Slovakia 34 months to begin and complete their accession negotiations.
- Ukraine and Moldova are increasingly framed as strategic-accession cases on the EU’s eastern flank, while Serbia faces sharper doubts over democracy, alignment and geopolitical direction.
- Ukraine and Moldova are no longer viewed only through the traditional enlargement lens of reforms, institutions and market alignment.
- More than four years later, detailed accession negotiations have begun, but Ukraine is far from being ready for membership, and the EU is far from ready to let it in.
- Kyivindependent and Politico.eu both highlight the challenges Ukraine faces in delivering necessary reforms while fighting a war.