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EU Urges Ukraine to Speed Up Rule of Law Reforms
· 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.
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 EU enlargement report presented on Tuesday noted that Ukraine must urgently and significantly step up the pace of rule of law reforms.
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 report underscores the challenges Ukraine faces in delivering necessary reforms while fighting a war.
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.
The EU enlargement report presented on Tuesday noted that Ukraine must urgently and significantly step up the pace of rule of law reforms.
What this adds
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.
The EU enlargement report presented on Tuesday noted that Ukraine must urgently and significantly step up the pace of rule of law reforms.
Background
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.
What's confirmed
- 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.
- On June 15 th 2026 Ukraine and the EU finally 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 they can join the Union.
- 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.
- 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.
- But before Ukraine closes all chapters, it will have to get sign-off on some rule of law reforms, classified as "interim benchmarks." And unfortunately for Ukraine, the 109-page report contains repeated criticisms, namely regarding the lack of progress on the rule of law and anti-corruption efforts.
- 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 ‘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.
- Ukraine must still overcome many obstacles before joining the EU, however.
What's still developing
- The clusters are lists of reforms across 33 chapters that Kyiv must carry out to align with the bloc.
- The Montreal summit launched work on a deeper partnership.
- It also requires restoring the credibility of the current accession process.
- Ukraine and Moldova are no longer viewed only through the traditional enlargement lens of reforms, institutions and market alignment.
- 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.
- Since then, Kyiv has completed a detailed examination of how its laws compare with EU rules and negotiations have formally opened across several major policy areas.