Brussels – Four frontrunners, multiple political deadlocks and social polarisation, and a dramatic setback. This sums up the 2025 Enlargement Package, published on 4 November by the European Commission. “Only if we complete the unification of Europe, we can ensure peace, freedom, and prosperity on our continent, working together with those who share our values,” said Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos at her first presentation of the documents related to the EU accession process.
“Overall, 2025 was a good year in working with candidate countries,” Commissioner Kos confirmed, highlighting that “significant progress has been made so far by Montenegro, Albania, Moldova, and Ukraine, showing that reforms pay off.” She added that the example of these four candidates “should serve as a strong motivation for all countries engaged in the process.”
The 2025 Enlargement Package not only reaffirms that the EU enlargement process “remains high on the EU’s priority agenda,” but also stresses that “the accession of new member states is genuinely within reach,” Commissioner Kos said, smiling, while presenting the document to the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET).
It is worth noting the importance of gradually integrating aspiring member states into the Single Market even before their accession, as explicitly stated in the 2025 Enlargement Package. The Commission “is committed to ensuring both the readiness of aspiring members and the EU’s preparedness to welcome them.” In this regard, a communication on the EU’s internal policy reviews and reforms is expected in the coming weeks, which will also take into account that “future Accession Treaties will need to contain stronger safeguards, while upholding the fundamental principle of equality.”
Commissioner Kos’ remarks respond to plans by some EU governments to admit new members without granting them full voting rights initially, in order to prevent them from blocking future EU accessions over bilateral disputes through the veto power. “I am only against dividing members into higher- and lower-ranking categories. There is no discussion within the Commission about removing voting rights,” she made it clear. For everything else, that may include provisions in the Accession Treaties, “it will be discussed once we publish the results of the pre-enlargement policy review and reforms.”
The 2025 Enlargement Package
The annual set of documents outlining the European Commission’s approach to integrating potential new member states covers officially recognised candidate countries – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Türkiye, and Ukraine – as well as potential candidates, currently only Kosovo. The Enlargement Package presents a comprehensive assessment of the progress made over the past twelve months.
The Enlargement Package is composed of a communication and country-specific reports. The Enlargement Communication is a strategic document that reviews the key developments of the past year, including recommendations for advancing the process. The country-specific reports provide a detailed assessment of each candidate’s progress and gaps, particularly in critical areas such as the rule of law, offering in-depth analyses of reforms needed to align national legislation with EU standards.
“The EU enlargement process is now moving faster than in the last 15 years“, the communication of the 2025 Enlargement Package reads. Since the beginning of 2024, 11 inter-governmental conferences have taken place – five with Albania, four with Montenegro and one each with Ukraine and Moldova. Progress on reforms linked to the fundamentals noted particularly in these four countries, moving them forward on their EU accession path – while “in sharp contrast, in Georgia the fundamentals drastically eroded.”
A key section of the 2025 Enlargement Package focuses on alignment with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). In Ukraine and Moldova, alignment is “very high,” particularly in the face of ongoing Russian aggression. Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina have maintained “full alignment,” although the enforcement of sanctions continues to pose challenges in Sarajevo. Kosovo’s “voluntary alignment” will be incorporated into a dedicated Chapter 31 of its Stabilisation and Association Agreement. By contrast, Türkiye has made “no progress,” alignment in Georgia has “decreased,” and in Serbia it remains “low,” as its fast-tracking of citizenship for Russian nationals – granting them visa-free access to the EU – poses “potential security risks” for the Union.
Bilateral issues must also be taken into account, as they “continue to negatively affect the accession process” of candidate countries and are “holding back regional integration.” The Commission stresses that the enlargement framework provides “an overall political environment conducive to addressing outstanding bilateral issues in good faith and finding mutually acceptable solutions.”
Green light
Among the candidates that have received the green light from the Commission, it is no coincidence that Montenegro is mentioned first. Podgorica has made “significant progress” towards EU accession, closing four negotiation chapters over the past year and committing to provisionally close further chapters by the end of 2025. As the most advanced candidate, Montenegro aims to conclude accession negotiations by the end of 2026 through “steady progress” on reforms and “continued broad political consensus.” The Commission confirms that “Montenegro is on track to meet this ambitious objective” and Commissioner Kos anticipated that “the time will soon come to start preparing the Accession Treaty.”
Albania has also made “significant progress,” with preparations to open the final remaining cluster by the end of 2025 now “well advanced.” Progress is evident in justice reform and in the fight against organised crime and corruption, though further efforts are needed to meet the interim benchmarks under Cluster 1 – ‘Fundamentals’, paving the way for the closure of negotiation chapters. Tirana is “on track to meet the ambitious objective” of concluding negotiations by 2027, provided reform momentum is maintained.
Despite Russia’s war of aggression, Ukraine has completed the screening process and adopted roadmaps on the rule of law, public administration, and the functioning of democratic institutions, as well as an action plan on national minorities, “which the Commission assessed positively.” Kyiv has met the conditions required to open three clusters – Cluster 1 – ‘Fundamentals’, Cluster 2 – ‘Internal Market’, and Cluster 6 – ‘External Relations’ – and is expected to meet the conditions allowing the Council to open “all clusters before the end of the year.”
With Hungary continuing to veto the start of EU accession negotiations, Commissioner Kos revealed that discussions are ongoing with the Danish presidency on the possibility of “getting a mandate to proceed in the working groups, to discuss and carry out the necessary work on reforms,” despite the formal process still being at a standstill. As the Ukrainian government has signalled its goal to close accession negotiations by the end of 2028, the Commission is committed to supporting this ambition, but “an acceleration of the pace of reforms is required.”
Moldova has “significantly advanced” on its accession path, successfully completing the screening process despite the continuous Russian destabilising activities. Like Ukraine, Moldova has met the conditions required to open Cluster 1 – ‘Fundamentals’, Cluster 2 – ‘Internal Market’, and Cluster 6 – ‘External Relations’. Chișinău may open accession negotiations “by November,” Commissioner Kos stated, even though Moldova’s EU process is tied to Kyiv’s, and the Hungarian politically-motivated blockade on Kyiv has effectively put Chișinău’s accession on hold as well. Reinforced by the strong support for the EU’s path in the September elections, the “ambitious but achievable” goal to provisionally close EU accession negotiations by early 2028 is supported by the Commission.
Yellow light
Serbia opens the section on candidates experiencing difficulties, but whose EU accession path is not entirely compromised. The mass protests that have been taking place since November 2024 “reflect citizens’ disappointment, inter alia, over corruption and the perceived lack of accountability and transparency” in the country, coupled with excessive use of force against protesters and pressure on civil society. Polarisation in society, a “serious” erosion of trust, and the slowdown of reforms are the most worrying issues, while Belgrade’s authorities need to “urgently reverse” the backsliding on freedom of expression and “avoid anti-EU rhetoric,” Commissioner Kos warned.
North Macedonia needs further “swift and decisive action” to meet benchmarks in line with the negotiating framework, with a view to opening the first cluster “as soon as possible once the relevant conditions are met.” After the package approach – which linked North Macedonia and Albania – ended in September 2024, Skopje is still required to adopt constitutional amendments, particularly regarding the treatment of minorities, including the Bulgarian minority.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the political crisis in Republika Srpska and the collapse of the ruling coalition have “undermined EU accession progress, resulting in limited reforms,” particularly regarding data protection, border control, and the signature of the Frontex status agreement. On a positive note, Sarajevo submitted its Reform Agenda and now has “the opportunity to deliver on reforms.” However, to start accession negotiations, Bosnian authorities “must first finalise and adopt judicial reform laws in full alignment with European standards, and appoint a chief negotiator.”
Kosovo is not a candidate country but “remained committed to its European path, with a high level of public support.” However, the delay in forming institutions following the February elections “slowed down EU-related reform progress,” and the non-recognition by five EU member states – Cyprus, Greece, Slovakia, Spain, and Romania – has been preventing the Commission from preparing an opinion on Kosovo’s membership application (submitted in December 2022). With regard to the EU’s punitive measures, the first steps to gradually lift them were taken in May, but further action is now conditional on the “orderly transfer of local governance” in the north of Kosovo following the second round of local elections, and on “sustained de-escalation.
Red light
“Probably no Enlargement Package has ever outlined such backsliding. Georgia’s candidate status exists only on paper.” With these words, Commissioner Kos summarised the EU’s assessment of the most problematic partner in the enlargement process. Since Georgia‘s EU accession was effectively halted in 2024, “the situation has sharply deteriorated, with serious democratic backsliding marked by a rapid erosion of the rule of law and severe restrictions on fundamental rights.” Georgia can return to the EU’s path only by demonstrating “resolute commitment” to reverse course. “Listen to your people, stop putting journalists and opposition leaders in jail, and only then can we talk,” Commissioner Kos directly addressed a government that “is taking its people far away from the EU.”
Finally, Türkiye remains a candidate country whose EU accession negotiations have been on hold since 2018. At the same time, the Council and the Commission consider Ankara a “key partner,” and discussions on a “phased, proportionate, and reversible approach” to the relationship, “engaging on shared priorities,” are ongoing. The resumption of Cyprus settlement talks is “a key element of cooperation,” but the deterioration of democratic standards, judicial independence, and fundamental rights “has yet to be addressed.” Legal actions against opposition figures and parties raise “serious concerns” about Türkiye’s adherence to democratic values, the basis for EU accession talks.
