Reform targets and policy areas
The European Commission is preparing a more cautious roadmap for Ukraine’s accession negotiations and sets limited targets for 2027. Brussels has sought to bring Ukraine closer to the EU to anchor Kyiv firmly in European institutions after Russia’s war, but the roadmap shows a different pace than for Moldova. Moldova could complete negotiations in more than 20 policy areas by next year. This divergence shows the EU is decoupling the two countries’ membership bids because Moldova can make much faster progress. The roadmap tells Kyiv to "urgently and significantly step up the pace of the rule of law reforms" to meet requirements in the first half of 2027.
| Period in 2027 | Ukraine Policy Area Targets |
|---|---|
| First half | Education and culture |
| Second half | Intellectual property, employment and social policy, industrial policy, research, external relations, and foreign and security policy |
Ukraine applied for membership on February 28, 2022, and received candidate status in June 2022. Negotiations for several major policy areas formally opened in June 2024. Both Ukraine and Moldova opened talks covering the EU’s internal market, competitiveness and economic growth in October. The Commission identifies only seven areas in which Ukraine could provisionally finish negotiations in 2027, such as education, culture, intellectual property, employment, social policy, industrial policy, research, external relations, and foreign and security policy. Ukraine must bring its laws and institutions in line with EU standards across 35 negotiating areas. To help Ukraine make progress, Brussels established a dedicated task force to provide additional support. This living document can change if reforms move faster than expected.
Stalled negotiations and security risks
The Commission wants talks on two stalled negotiating clusters to begin by the end of 2026. These include cluster 4, which covers the green agenda and sustainable connectivity, and cluster 5, which covers resources, agriculture and cohesion. The Commission considers Ukraine to have met the necessary conditions and urges the accession conference to open these clusters before the end of the year. This opening would allow Ukraine to advance negotiations across the remaining policy areas, although the pace of subsequent progress remains dependent on reforms and decisions by member countries.
The war makes passing the required legislation difficult for the Ukrainian government and parliament. EU rules do not prohibit a country at war from joining, but Ukraine’s accession creates difficult questions about security, territory and the obligations EU countries assume under mutual assistance provisions. Even a peace settlement would not automatically resolve these questions or remove the need for Ukraine to complete its reforms. The Commission avoids committing to an end date for Ukraine’s accession, which is a similar approach to other frontrunners like Albania and Moldova. Montenegro remains the only exception, with a target of June 2027 for signing an accession treaty. The EU is clearly slowing Ukraine’s path.
