The 2026 enlargement package demonstrates that a commitment to reforms paves the way for EU accession

The European Commission adopted its annual Enlargement Package, taking stock of the progress made by the enlargement partners over the past year and setting out the priorities for reform going forward.

Enlargement is one of the EU’s most far-reaching policies, as it consolidates peace, stability and prosperity across the continent. Firmly grounded in the principle of merit, a credible enlargement policy is increasingly becoming an investment in Europe’s collective security.

This year’s package demonstrates that sustained reform efforts translate into concrete progress towards EU membership, as evidenced by Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine. All four countries have made progress in their accession negotiations, with the opening of working groups and the provisional closure of chapters at an unprecedented pace. This year, the Commission has presented the financial package for Montenegro’s accession, and work on the accession treaty is well advanced. To build on this work, and as announced by President von der Leyen in her 2026 State of the Union address , the Commission is presenting indicative roadmaps for these four most advanced negotiating countries, setting out specific milestones for the coming year.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, stated:

‘The significant progress made by some candidate countries over the past year enables us to turn the promise of enlargement into reality. We are now proposing a series of indicative roadmaps for the countries at the most advanced stage of negotiations: Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine and Moldova. A clear path for the coming year and a solid foundation for the negotiations ahead. Step by step, we are building a more complete and stronger Union.”

The reports show that the pace of reforms – particularly in the areas of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights, alongside political decisions on security and defence, as well as progress towards economic convergence – directly influences the speed of each partner’s accession process. Reforms, investments and the gradual integration of the enlargement partners are already strengthening the Union’s ability to protect its interests, reduce vulnerabilities and create new opportunities. To maximise these benefits ahead of accession, the Commission is presenting a common framework for gradual integration that will enable integration to be deepened even further in strategic sectors such as energy, transport, the digital sector and defence. This will make gradual integration more structured and coherent.

As the enlargement partners make progress with their reform processes, the EU must be prepared to welcome them and adapt to their pace of progress. With its recent Communication‘Preparing for a WiderUnion’, the Commission has laid the foundations to ensure that a wider Union is also stronger, more resilient and more effective.

Key conclusions

Montenegro has made significant progress on its path towards EU accession, having provisionally closed 21 chapters to date. With the agreement of the Member States, Montenegro could provisionally close the remaining chapters by the end of this year. The ongoing work on Montenegro’s accession treaty, together with the adoption of the Council’s conclusions on the financial package for the country’s accession to the EU, confirms that Montenegro is nearing the final stage of its accession process. Sustained reform efforts and a broad political consensus remain essential for the country’s future within the EU.

Albania continues to make progress towards EU accession. During the reporting period, it opened the last outstanding cluster, met the interim targets in the chapters on the rule of law, and paved the way for the provisional closure of four chapters. Continued efforts are now needed across all remaining chapters. Achieving Albania’s ambitious but attainable goal of concluding accession negotiations by 2027 requires maintaining the momentum for reform and fostering an inclusive political dialogue. Maintaining this momentum will demand the swift implementation of high-quality EU-related reforms. At the same time, the reporting period saw the country’s largest civic mobilisation since its democratic transition. EU accession is a process that involves the whole of society and requires constructive dialogue.

Moldova has continued to make steady progress in its EU accession process, having opened four thematic chapters over the past year. The Commission maintains that Moldova meets the necessary conditions to open all remaining thematic chapters. Moldova has stepped up the alignment of its legislation with the EUacquis in all chapters and has made progress on key rule of law reforms. It has also made substantial progress towards meeting the provisional benchmarks for the key thematic chapter. It is now important for Moldova to maintain the current pace of reforms so that the country can achieve its ambitious, yet achievable, goal of concluding accession negotiations by early 2028.

Ukraine remains committed to EU accession despite the challenges arising from Russia’s war of aggression, having opened four thematic chapters over the past year. The Commission continues to consider that Ukraine meets the necessary conditions to open all remaining thematic chapters. Ukraine has continued to make progress on key sectoral reforms. Its institutional framework for combating corruption remains effective, and the specialised anti-corruption institutions continue to operate independently and effectively. Attention must now focus on meeting the interim targets relating to the rule of law, as well as on implementing the roadmaps concerning the rule of law, the functioning of democratic institutions and public administration reform, and on the action plan on national minorities. It is important that Ukraine continues to accelerate the pace of reforms in order to achieve its ambitious goal of concluding accession negotiations by the end of 2028.

Serbia made no substantial progress in the accession negotiations. The period covered by this report was characterised by growing social polarisation, including in the run-up to the elections. Whilst Serbia made progress in aligning with the EUacquis and technical standards, negative trends relating to the fundamentals of the accession process ran counter to the authorities’ stated objective and the values underpinning Serbia’s path towards the EU. Alignment with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) remained low. Serbia must also implement all obligations arising from the EU-facilitated Dialogue, which remains an integral part of its European perspective. The recent parliamentary elections in Serbia gave the newly elected government a strong mandate for reform. Progress towards EU accession will depend on the new government’s efforts to reverse negative trends and prioritise the fundamentals, including the democratic criteria, the judiciary and fundamental rights. It will be necessary to re-establish a respectful democratic dialogue and to demonstrate a clear and unequivocal commitment to EU values, including alignment with the EU’s foreign and security policy and efforts towards reconciliation, good-neighbourly relations and normalisation.

North Macedonia continued to work on the opening criteria for the key issues cluster. This includes the adoption of the roadmap for public administration reform and continued work on the roadmap for the rule of law, alongside the corresponding action plan on minorities. North Macedonia has not yet adopted the necessary constitutional amendments to which it committed itself. Further efforts are needed to strengthen the rule of law. The country has made significant progress in implementing the reforms set out in its Reform Agenda, making it one of the best-performing countries under the Reform and Growth Mechanism. It is essential to step up efforts to adopt the necessary constitutional changes and address the opening criteria in order to advance the accession process.

Bosnia and Herzegovina continued to publicly declare its commitment to EU integration as a strategic objective, whilst at the same time drifting further and further away from its path towards the EU. Political rhetoric, division and anti-European discourse intensified in the run-up to the general election. Following the election, Bosnia and Herzegovina should move swiftly to establish all executive and legislative bodies and demonstrate a renewed commitment to implementing EU reforms. Furthermore, Bosnia and Herzegovina urgently needs to take the necessary steps to benefit fully from the Reform Agenda adopted under the Reform and Growth Facility.

Kosovo saw its EU-related reform process stall amidst a protracted institutional crisis, which was alleviated by a political agreement on the election of the President. Whilst some progress was made in the area of serious and organised crime and full alignment with the CFSP, there were worrying developments regarding the functioning of the judiciary and respect for fundamental rights. Following the transfer of local governance in northern Kosovo, the Commission lifted its measures against Kosovo, resumed dialogue through the Stabilisation and Association Process Dialogue and resumed the provision of financial assistance. Whilst support for Kosovo’s European path remains firm, Kosovo needs to step up the reform process and fulfil all obligations arising from the EU-facilitated Dialogue, which remains an integral part of Kosovo’s European perspective. The Commission stands ready to prepare an Opinion on Kosovo’s application for membership if requested to do so by the Council.

Turkey remains a candidate country and a key partner for the EU. The EU has continued to advance relations with Turkey in a gradual, proportionate and reversible manner, engaging in areas of mutual interest. However, legal proceedings against elected officials, opposition figures and civil society representatives have intensified, raising growing concerns about Turkey’s adherence to fundamental democratic principles. The gap between Turkey’s stated objective of joining the EU and its regression on the fundamental political criteria for accession has widened further. The underlying factors that led to the stalemate in accession negotiations in 2018 remain unresolved.

Georgia’s EU accession process remains de facto paralysed, and the Commission’s assessment that it is a candidate country in name only remains valid. Georgia continues to fail to meet the nine steps set out in the Commission’s recommendation for the granting of candidate status, as the ruling party has continued to undermine democratic principles, the rule of law, fundamental rights and civic space, whilst fostering further state capture. Unless the Georgian authorities change course and recommit to the fundamental principles underpinning EU accession, Georgia will continue to be unable to benefit from candidate status and the pre-accession process. The EU’s long-standing support for Georgia’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity remains unwavering, as does its support for the European aspirations of the Georgian people.

Clear roadmaps for EU accession

In light of the progress made by Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine, the Commission has presented indicative roadmaps with specific milestones and targets for the coming year. Building on previous experience, in particular the 2004 and 2013 enlargements, these roadmaps will help to organise the next stages of preparation in a more structured and transparent manner, supporting the work of both the candidate countries and the EU institutions and Member States. The Commission may adjust the roadmaps in line with progress made towards meeting the required conditions and will update them regularly, in accordance with the progress achieved. The Commission stands ready to present similar roadmaps for other candidate countries once they have reached a comparable level of progress, pace and engagement in the accession negotiations.

Preparation for membership through gradual integration

The Commission’s recent Communication, ‘Preparing for a Wider Union’, emphasises the need to strengthen the gradual integration of accession partners as they progress towards EU membership. To this end, the Commission has presented an analysis of existing instruments which serves as a basis for identifying opportunities to deepen integration in strategic sectors, such as energy, transport, the digital sector and defence. In certain circumstances, this enhanced gradual integration will further boost growth, competitiveness and security, whilst remaining an integral part of the accession process. The aim of the analysis is to ensure greater coherence, predictability and reversibility, thereby enabling a more structured integration process that delivers clear benefits for both the enlargement partners and the EU. Over the next six months, the Commission will engage in dialogues on gradual integration with the enlargement partners to assess existing measures and their funding, and to identify opportunities best suited to each partner.

Next steps

It is now up to the Council to examine the recommendations put forward by the Commission and to take decisions on the next steps in the enlargement process.

Background

Enlargement is a merit-based process, grounded in the objective progress made by each member country. The EU supports the strengthening of institutions, democratic governance and public administration reforms in these countries.

In its recent Communication‘Preparing for a WiderUnion’, the Commission set out the pre-enlargement policy reviews, as well as the policy guidelines and actions needed to prepare the Union for future enlargements. It highlighted the importance of preparing the EU’s institutions, adapting the Union’s policies to new realities and ensuring that the EU budget reflects our shared ambitions. The Communication also emphasised that future accession treaties should include safeguards to ensure that key commitments made during the negotiations continue to be honoured after accession. 

Gradual integration enables accession candidate countries to prepare for membership through earlier involvement in EU policies. Partner countries can benefit from greater access to EU programmes and agencies, improved connectivity and the opportunity to participate in expert groups and committees, even before accession. Furthermore, initiatives such as the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans (€6 billion), the Growth Plan for Moldova (€1.9 billion) and the Mechanism for Ukraine (€50 billion) facilitate greater integration into the single market and strengthen ties with the EU, for example through gradual integration and participation in SEPA and the ‘Roam Like at Home’ programme.

Each enlargement has strengthened our Union. When ten countries joined the EU in 2004, it marked the Union’s largest expansion to date. In the two decades since then, the new member states have seen their standard of living double, unemployment fall by almost half, life expectancy rise from 75 to 79 years, poverty and social exclusion decrease dramatically, and 6 million new jobs created. For current members, trade has increased more than fivefold since then, and 20 million jobs have also been created. For the EU as a whole, the Single Market gained 74 million new consumers at that time, and the EU economy has grown by 27 per cent despite global crises.

 

More information: European Commission