The European Union is considering targeted accession roadmaps for Ukraine, Moldova, Montenegro and Albania, offering clearer reform priorities and timelines as Brussels looks to speed up enlargement.
The proposed plans would identify key reforms and milestones for the four candidate countries while maintaining the EU's requirement that membership negotiations remain merit-based and that all existing member states ultimately approve accession.
The proposals follow a series of accession milestones reached by the four countries in 2026.
At accession conferences on 14 July, the EU opened negotiations on the external relations cluster with Ukraine and Moldova, covering external relations and foreign, security and defence policy.
Montenegro provisionally closed two chapters on competition policy and the customs union, bringing the number of provisionally closed chapters to 18 out of 33. Albania provisionally closed three chapters covering science and research, education and culture, and external relations.
The four countries are at different stages of the accession process, and the proposed roadmaps are designed to give them greater clarity over the reforms and milestones still ahead.
The proposed roadmaps would establish priority reforms, indicative timelines and deliverables for completing groups of accession negotiations known as clusters.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in her State of the Union address on 16 September that the EU would soon propose roadmaps for candidate countries that had made the most progress.
A Commission spokesperson said the planned roadmaps would provide a pathway towards concluding accession negotiations and set out priorities, timelines and deliverables to help advanced candidates complete the necessary reforms.
However, the plans would not ease the conditions for EU membership. Candidates must align their laws and institutions with EU standards and implement lasting reforms, while accession ultimately requires unanimous approval from EU member states.
The proposed approach would not initially cover all EU candidate countries.
According to officials involved in the proposals, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina would not receive targeted roadmaps at this stage. Georgia, Türkiye and Serbia would also remain outside the initiative amid EU concerns over democratic and judicial reforms.
The EU has repeatedly stressed that enlargement is a merit-based process and that progress depends on meeting the required conditions.
Serbia's accession process has also been affected by its foreign policy, including its decision not to align with EU sanctions against Russia. President Aleksandar Vučić has previously argued that Serbia's position on Russia has slowed its progress towards EU membership.
The roadmap proposal forms part of a broader discussion about how candidate countries could become more closely integrated with the EU before gaining full membership.
Brussels is considering greater access to EU programmes, economic opportunities and joint projects as candidates advance through the accession process.
The EU is also reviewing how its institutions and rules could accommodate future enlargement, including possible safeguards and transition arrangements for new members. EU leaders are expected to discuss enlargement and internal reforms at a European Council summit in Brussels in October.
The European Commission has described enlargement as a strategic priority, while emphasising that accession remains a rigorous process requiring extensive reforms.
For the four countries, the proposed roadmaps would offer clearer milestones and indicative timelines - but no guaranteed date for joining the EU.
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