Ukraine trails Moldova in EU entry race
Brussels withholds accession dates for most candidates to maintain pressure on Kyiv for reforms.
By Camila Herrera ·
One date stands alone in the European Commission's latest enlargement package: June 2027 for Montenegro.
For the other nine candidate nations, including Ukraine, Brussels has provided no forecast for when membership negotiations will conclude. The European Commission published its annual report on 4 November, assessing the progress of all ten candidates. Ukraine was listed among the four countries that made the most strides over the past year.
The absence of a timeline for Ukraine is a deliberate political choice. EU member states signaled to the Commission that they want to keep the door open for Kyiv to accelerate its reforms. Ukraine is currently behind Moldova in the accession process. The Commission agreed that issuing an official assessment suggesting Chisinau could join the bloc before Kyiv would be politically awkward.
The report notes that emphasizing Moldova's lead would undermine the EU's stated desire to bring Ukraine into this wave of enlargement if reforms continue. By withholding specific dates, Brussels avoids a public signal that Ukraine could be overtaken by its neighbors.
However, the Commission's report on Ukraine included a sharp caveat. While the improved assessment of Ukraine's progress, particularly in anti-corruption, was noted, the document stated this progress was achieved despite, not because of, the actions of the authorities in Kyiv.
The strategy balances two goals: keeping pressure on candidate governments to deliver reforms while managing the optics of Ukraine's position relative to Moldova.
