EU preparing step-by-step membership "roadmaps" for Ukraine, Moldova, Albania and Montenegro
The European Union is developing proposals to give four countries considered leaders in European integration – Montenegro, Ukraine, Moldova and Albania – a clear, step-by-step path to membership, Politico reported, citing two senior EU officials. The "roadmaps" would set indicative timelines for completing accession negotiations and impose obligations on current member states to consent to the process. The move comes alongside a separate pre-enlargement policy review to be presented on 6 October.
Key points
- EU developing "roadmaps" giving Ukraine, Moldova, Albania and Montenegro indicative dates to complete accession negotiations, Politico reported citing two senior EU officials
- Roadmaps would impose obligations on EU members to consent to the process advancing, raising the cost of unilateral blockages
- Kosovo, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina will not be offered roadmaps at this stage as they are less advanced in the process
- Georgia, Turkey and Serbia also excluded; their applications are stalled over concerns about democratic and judicial backsliding
- A separate pre-enlargement policy review led by von der Leyen adviser Alexandre Adam is due to be presented to officials on 6 October
- Hungary blocked screening results for Ukraine's second and third negotiating clusters on 17 July and 22 July, stalling cluster openings
- EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised targeted support to the most advanced candidates in her State of the Union speech in early September
Why it matters
For the first time, Ukraine would receive a written, step-by-step plan with indicative timelines for EU accession, replacing a previously open-ended process. The roadmaps would impose obligations on current EU member states to consent to the process, raising the political cost of unilateral blockages such as Hungary's repeated refusal to approve screening results for Ukraine's second and third negotiating clusters on 17 July and 22 July. The parallel pre-enlargement review could reshape how the EU absorbs new members, including safeguards against backsliding.
What happened
The EU is preparing formal "roadmaps" for Ukraine, Moldova, Albania and Montenegro that would, for the first time, set out an explicit, step-by-step path to membership with indicative timelines for completing accession negotiations, Politico reported on 28 September, citing two senior EU officials. An EU Commission official said the roadmaps would more clearly define what is expected of each candidate country and set obligations on current member states to consent to the process advancing. The plans include indicative dates for the official completion of groups of reforms known as negotiating clusters. A Commission spokesperson confirmed the roadmaps would contain a clear list of priorities – timelines and results – to help the most advanced candidates complete necessary reforms. The proposal follows European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's pledge in her early-September State of the Union speech to provide targeted support to candidate countries "that have made the most progress." Candidate countries at earlier stages of the process – Kosovo, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina – will not be offered roadmaps at this stage. Georgia, Turkey and Serbia are also excluded because their applications have been frozen over concerns about democratic and judicial backsliding. In parallel, a separate pre-enlargement policy review led by von der Leyen's close adviser Alexandre Adam is to be presented to officials on 6 October. As part of that review, von der Leyen and Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos will propose changes to the EU's internal mechanisms to introduce safeguards against new members undermining key policy areas or backsliding on commitments. Kos has previously outlined four strands of reform to the enlargement process: internal EU reforms, strengthened democratic guarantees, gradual integration, and transitional measures. Politico had previously reported that Brussels was planning a roadmap for Albania setting the end of 2027 as the target for completing that country's accession negotiations.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian outlets frame the roadmap proposal as a historic, first-ever clear and step-by-step plan for Ukraine's accession, sourced from Politico and presented as the official EU policy direction toward Ukraine. Coverage foregrounds Hungary's repeated blocking of Ukraine's cluster openings, identifying it as the main obstacle Ukraine still faces inside the EU.
Background
Hungary has repeatedly refused to approve the screening results of the second and third negotiating clusters for Ukraine, blocking progress on 17 July and 22 July alongside Moldova's cluster openings. The pre-enlargement review is framed in a draft document as a "geopolitical imperative" requiring rigorous merit-based reform and gradual integration before accession.