EU tells Ukraine to speed up reforms, sets out more cautious path for accession

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. Brussels has long sought to bring Ukraine closer to the EU in a broader effort to secure its future after Russia’s war, with eventual membership seen as a way to anchor Kyiv firmly in European institutions and make renewed Russian aggression more difficult.

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 Wednesday, identifies seven policy areas in which Ukraine could provisionally complete negotiations next year.