EU Presents Accession Roadmaps for Candidate Countries

(MENAFN) The European Commission has unveiled preliminary membership roadmaps for Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine, outlining specific steps to advance their European Union accession efforts while expanding their gradual participation in key EU sectors.

The plans were announced on Wednesday under the commission's 2026 Enlargement Package, which reviews the progress achieved by countries seeking membership over the past year and establishes priorities for future reforms.

The proposed roadmaps identify specific objectives, deadlines and benchmarks for the four candidates, which have achieved "significant progress" in negotiations, including opening different negotiating clusters and provisionally completing several chapters.

Montenegro remains the most advanced candidate, having provisionally concluded 21 negotiating chapters. The country could complete the provisional closure of all remaining chapters before the end of this year.

"Work on Montenegro's accession treaty is already underway ... Montenegro is on track to become the 28th member of the European Union in 2028," European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos told lawmakers during a meeting of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Albania also recorded progress during the review period, opening its final remaining negotiation cluster and meeting interim requirements concerning rule-of-law chapters. These developments have created conditions for the provisional closure of four negotiating chapters.

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