EU roadmap sets conditional chapter targets for Ukraine and Moldova

The European Commission’s November 4 accession roadmaps say Ukraine could provisionally close seven negotiating chapters in 2027, while Moldova could close 25. Both schedules depend on reforms and approval by European Union member states, and neither sets a date for either country to join the bloc. The Commission urged Ukraine to accelerate work on rule-of-law benchmarks, democratic institutions, public administration and a national-minorities action plan. Its roadmap envisages Ukraine meeting the necessary rule-of-law benchmarks in the first half of 2027, with the seven possible chapter closures spread across the year. The Commission said Ukraine’s specialised anticorruption institutions continued to operate overall independently and effectively. Moldova’s proposed schedule comprises nine chapter closures in the first half of 2027 and 16 in the second. The roadmaps place both countries among four leading candidates, alongside Albania and Montenegro. Moldova and Ukraine have each opened four of six negotiating clusters, according to the Commission’s enlargement package. The Commission said Ukraine opened four negotiating chapter groups over the past year and met the conditions...