Overview
- The European Commission’s 2025 enlargement assessment credits Ukraine’s wartime engagement yet urges a higher reform tempo, focusing on rule of law and anti‑corruption.
- The report cites recent backsliding and calls for reversing pressure on specialized anti‑corruption bodies and on civil society, alongside progress on judiciary, decentralization and fundamental‑rights alignment.
- Kyiv’s goal to conclude accession negotiations by the end of 2028 is flagged as risking unrealistic expectations without faster, high‑quality implementation.
- The Commission proposes stronger protections in future accession treaties to guard democratic standards and deter post‑accession backsliding.
- Montenegro is assessed as closest to finishing talks, possibly by end‑2026, with Albania potentially in 2027, as President Zelenskyy publicly urges Hungary not to block Ukraine’s path that requires unanimity.