The European Union is preparing special accession "roadmaps" for Ukraine, Moldova, Montenegro, and Albania. They should define the sequence of reforms and approximate deadlines for completing key stages of membership negotiations.
Politico writes about this, citing sources.
Two senior European Commission officials told Politico that the plans should clearly outline what each country must do to join the EU and by when. At the same time, EU countries will have to meet their own conditions for the talks to move forward.
A European Commission spokesperson confirmed that the plans will define priority reforms, deadlines for their implementation and specific results that candidate countries must achieve. Such plans are currently being prepared only for Ukraine, Moldova, Albania and Montenegro.
There are currently no plans for Kosovo, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as these countries are at an earlier stage of negotiations. This is also not the case for Georgia, Turkey and Serbia, where negotiations have slowed down significantly.
In addition, the EU wants to change its approach to countries preparing for accession. They could gradually be given access to the European market and joint projects even before full membership, in order to stimulate further reforms.
The results of the policy review are to be presented to the EU leadership on October 6. The issue of enlargement will also be discussed at the EU leadersʼ summit in Brussels on October 15-16.
- Euronews, citing sources , wrote in March that EU countries have largely rejected the idea of giving Ukraine a “reverse membership” plan, fearing that the reform would undermine credibility in the accession process.
- Under the “reverse enlargement” idea, developed by the European Commission, Ukraine would become an official EU member but without access to most of the benefits that come with it, such as voting rights or the Common Agricultural Policy.
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