European Commission adopts 2026 enlargement package and presents roadmaps for four candidates

The package assesses candidate countries' progress over the past year and sets reform priorities. The roadmaps cover the four most advanced negotiating countries: Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine and Moldova.

For Ukraine, the Commission said Kyiv has opened four of six negotiating clusters and 24 of 33 chapters, including four clusters over the past year. Kyiv meets the conditions to open all remaining clusters. The Commission called on Ukraine to focus on interim rule-of-law benchmarks, the functioning of democratic institutions, public administration reform and an action plan on national minorities.

The Commission said specialised anti-corruption institutions continue to operate "overall independently and effectively." It called the end-2028 goal ambitious and said Ukraine must accelerate the pace of reforms to meet it.

Roadmaps set milestones, not accession dates

The roadmaps are indicative. They set milestones for the year ahead and do not amount to guaranteed accession dates. The pace of accession depends on reforms in democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights, and on political choices on security and defence and economic convergence, it said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the roadmaps were "a clear path for the year ahead and a firm anchor for the upcoming negotiations."

Montenegro leads, Albania and Moldova set targets

Montenegro is closest to completing talks, having provisionally closed 21 negotiating chapters. Subject to member states' agreement, it could provisionally close the remaining chapters by the end of this year, the Commission said. Work on its accession treaty is under way.

Albania opened its last remaining cluster and met interim benchmarks on rule-of-law chapters, paving the way for the provisional closure of four chapters. The Commission said Albania could conclude negotiations by 2027 if it maintains reform momentum and inclusive political dialogue.

Moldova opened four clusters over the past year and met the conditions to open all remaining clusters, the Commission said. It targets early 2028 to conclude talks.

The package also found no substantive progress for Serbia, said North Macedonia has yet to adopt constitutional amendments, and reported that Bosnia and Herzegovina's integration has been increasingly affected by political divisions while Kosovo's process stalled amid an institutional crisis.

What happens next

The Council of the EU will consider the Commission's recommendations and decide on the next steps. The EU Enlargement Forum meets in Brussels on 15-16 November.

The Commission also proposed a common framework for gradual integration in energy, transport, digital and defence before membership. It said related dialogues would begin over the next six months.