BRUSSELS — The European Commission and the Ukrainian government have agreed on a roadmap to meet interim benchmarks on democracy and the rule of law in the first half of 2027, a key step on Ukraine’s path toward European Union membership.
European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos announced the agreement on Sunday, November 15, after a meeting of the high-level EC-Ukraine Task Force in Brussels. Kos co-chaired the meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi, and Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk also took part, sending what Kos called “a powerful signal of unity.”
“As Ukraine is decisively moving forward on its EU path, we are stepping up the work towards meeting Ukraine’s next milestone: completing the interim benchmarks on democracy and the rule of law. Today, together with Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi, I co-chaired the high-level EC-Ukraine Task Force to make this ambition a reality,” Kos wrote. “Together, we can seize the historic opportunity to advance bringing Ukraine inside the EU.”
According to Kos, the two sides advanced on a concrete set of reform deliverables and a pathway to meet Ukraine’s ambition of securing the interim benchmarks in the first half of 2027. The benchmarks concern negotiating chapters 23 and 24, covering the judiciary and fundamental rights, and justice, freedom and security. Without meeting them, Ukraine cannot move on to the next stage of accession negotiations — closing the negotiation chapters.
The Commission has said Ukraine could close at least seven of the 35 negotiating chapters by the end of 2027 if it delivers the required reforms. If Kyiv speeds up the pace, the Commission could present its Interim Benchmark Assessment Report on Ukraine’s fulfilment of the rule-of-law criteria to the Council of the EU in the first half of 2027. The high-level working group, established in October, was set up to help Ukraine meet the benchmarks.
The agreement comes as the Commission’s enlargement forum takes place in Brussels on Monday, November 16. Ukraine expects the remaining clusters in its EU accession negotiations to be opened by the end of the year, and the European Commission believes Kyiv has fulfilled all the conditions for opening them. The Commission’s annual enlargement report, published on November 4, had found only “limited progress” on the rule of law and anti-corruption efforts, making the new roadmap a test of whether the pace of reform can now accelerate.
