The European Commission called on Ukraine to strengthen reforms in the area of the rule of law and the fight against corruption

Ukraine demonstrates “remarkable commitment” to the path to joining the European Union, but must overcome recent negative trends in the fight against corruption and accelerate rule of law reforms.

This is stated in a draft report from the European Commission, which was reviewed by Reuters.

According to the document, which is part of the EUʼs annual report on enlargement and is due to be published on Tuesday, November 4, despite the war, Ukraine continues to demonstrate "extraordinary commitment" to the European integration course.

At the same time, the European Commission stressed that Kyiv must make more progress in ensuring the independence of the judiciary, in the fight against organized crime and in protecting civil society.

The document notes that "negative trends, in particular increased pressure on specialized anti-corruption bodies and public organizations, must be decisively changed".

European officials have also expressed concern over attempts by Ukraine’s prosecutor general to tighten control over anti-corruption agencies — the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). These moves have sparked rare protests even in wartime, after which the authorities were forced to back down.

Despite widespread support for Ukraine among EU governments, membership is not expected in the near future. Diplomats acknowledge that the path to accession will be difficult and will require consensus among all members of the bloc.

Kyiv has said it plans to complete accession negotiations by the end of 2028. The European Commission supports this ambitious goal, but stresses that to achieve it, Ukraine must “accelerate the pace of reforms, especially in key areas such as the rule of law”.

The draft report also proposes strengthening mechanisms to protect democratic standards for future EU members. The Commission believes that new accession treaties should include "strong guarantees" against the withdrawal of commitments made during the negotiations.

• Ukraine and Moldova are moving synchronously along the path of European integration: both countries have completed the screening of legislation and are moving to the next stages of negotiations in parallel. At the same time, Marta Kos noted that the EU is considering the option of separating Moldova from Ukraine in the accession process due to Hungaryʼs blocking.
• In April 2025, the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán called on Hungarians to vote against Ukraineʼs membership in the EU in a national poll. The results of this vote were released on June 26 — the Hungarian authorities claim that 95% of Hungarians are against Ukraineʼs accession to the EU.
• Denmark has called for increased pressure on Hungary for violating the fundamental principles of the European Union. Minister for European Affairs Marie Bjerre said that Copenhagen will seek to activate the procedure under Article 7 of the EU Treaty — also known as the "nuclear option" because it allows for limiting the rights of a member state, including depriving it of its vote in the EU Council.
• On September 30, Ukraine and the EU completed the screening of Ukrainian legislation for negotiations on accession to the European Union.

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