The European Commission has published indicative roadmaps for Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine, setting out possible steps in their negotiations to join the European Union.
The plans were presented in Brussels on 4 November as part of the Commission’s annual enlargement package. They identify milestones for the four countries but do not guarantee a timetable for membership. Each depends on reforms and further decisions by EU institutions and member states.
The Commission says it can revise the roadmaps as countries make progress. The Council, which brings together member-state governments, will consider the Commission’s recommendations and decide on steps ahead.
Montenegro’s next steps
Montenegro is the furthest advanced of the four. It has provisionally closed 21 negotiating chapters, leaving 14 to be closed. Chapters cover different areas in which a candidate’s laws and policies are assessed against EU requirements. Closing a chapter provisionally is not the same as completing accession.
The Commission considers that Montenegro has met the closing benchmarks for the remaining chapters. It proposes a sequence under which five could be closed at one or more intergovernmental conferences in November and the other nine in December. That would require agreement in the Council, including on matters such as transitional arrangements and the financial package.
On that basis, the Commission says negotiations could be completed as early as December 2026. Its indicative timetable then envisages completing work on a draft accession treaty in spring 2027 and signing it in June 2027. Those steps are conditional: the treaty would require agreement, the European Parliament’s consent and a Council decision on admission.
Even after signature, Montenegro and every EU member state would need to ratify the treaty under their own constitutional procedures. The Commission also says it will continue monitoring Montenegro’s commitments until accession.
Albania’s proposed sequence
Albania opened its last remaining negotiating cluster during the reporting period. A cluster groups related policy chapters; opening one allows negotiations on those areas to advance but does not mean the chapters have been closed.
Following an intergovernmental conference in October, 31 chapters remained to be closed. Albania’s stated ambition is to conclude its accession negotiations by the end of 2027. The roadmap sets out a possible sequence of closures across the rest of 2026 and both halves of 2027.
Before a chapter can be closed, the EU must verify that the relevant benchmarks have been met and the two sides must agree on any transitional arrangements. The Commission says Albania will need sustained reforms and inclusive political dialogue to maintain momentum.
Moldova and Ukraine
Moldova and Ukraine have each opened four negotiating clusters over the past year. The Commission considers that both have met the conditions for opening their remaining clusters, covering the green agenda and sustainable connectivity, and resources, agriculture and cohesion. It urges the accession conferences to make every effort to open them by the end of 2026.
For Moldova, the roadmap proposes an initial schedule for possible provisional closure of nine chapters in the first half of 2027 and a further 16 in the second half. These include education, research, energy and transport. Moldova must complete work on interim rule-of-law benchmarks before moving to the next phase in which chapters can be provisionally closed.
The Commission describes Moldova’s objective of concluding negotiations by early 2028 as ambitious but achievable if it maintains the pace of reforms. That is an objective for negotiations, not an agreed date for joining the EU.
Ukraine’s roadmap proposes education and culture as a potential first chapter for provisional closure in the first half of 2027, followed by six others in the second half. The Commission says Ukraine must accelerate work on rule-of-law reforms and fulfil the relevant benchmarks. It has set up a task force to provide coordinated support.
Ukraine’s stated objective is to close negotiations by the end of 2028. The Commission says further reforms are needed to put the country in a position to meet it, while noting that accession work continues amid Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Closer cooperation before membership
Alongside the roadmaps, the Commission has presented a framework for gradual integration, intended to help candidates participate more closely in selected EU policies before joining. It identifies areas such as energy, transport, digital services and defence, subject to conditions.
The Commission plans dialogues with enlargement partners to review existing cooperation and financing and identify further opportunities. Closer participation is separate from membership and does not replace the required negotiations, approvals or ratification.
The wider package also assesses countries beyond the four with roadmaps. The Commission says Serbia made no substantive progress in accession negotiations during the reporting period, while North Macedonia still needs to adopt constitutional changes it previously committed to undertake. It says other candidates could receive similar roadmaps if they reach a comparable stage of negotiations.
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