Brussels – The European Commission has started work on targeted accession roadmaps for the four most advanced candidates, in its latest push to provide a clearer framework for where – and potentially when – their reform efforts could take them on their respective paths towards EU membership.
Albania, Moldova, Montenegro and Ukraine can now mark their calendars for the presentation of the 2026 Enlargement Package in late October, when these draft plans are expected to be unveiled, as The New Union Post understands. According to the latest published agenda, the College of Commissioners is expected to discuss and adopt the annual set of documents outlining the approach to integrating potential new EU members on 28 October.
The new step-by-step path towards membership was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union address on 16 September. She stated that the EU executive would “soon propose roadmaps for the most advanced candidates“, without providing further details on the initiative.
Two EU sources confirmed to The New Union Post that the candidates involved will be all four frontrunners – although, until now, the term ‘frontrunner’ had been reserved for Montenegro and Albania. The communication on the pre-enlargement policy reviews – now expected on 6 October – should also refer to these four roadmaps, ahead of the new Enlargement Package.
What do you know about these accession roadmaps?
Not much, at least for the moment. According to the sources contacted by The New Union Post, each roadmap is expected to reiterate the EU reforms and conditions expected of each candidate in line with their respective negotiating frameworks. At the same time, it should establish what needs to happen at each stage of the accession process if these conditions are met, together with indicative timelines for closing the negotiating chapters.
On the one hand, this step-by-step approach would aim to create commitments not only for the candidate countries, but also for EU member states, since unanimity is currently required throughout the accession process. On the other hand, it could potentially provide a clearer political assurance of EU membership – provided the countries fulfil the required reforms and conditions – at a time when great uncertainties loom over the accession of even the most advanced and prepared candidates.
In other words, the accession roadmaps would be more than the usual recommendations in the Enlargement Package, but they would build precisely on the annual set of strategic enlargement documents. The Commission’s 2025 Enlargement Package already treated Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine and Moldova as particularly advanced.
However, it must be noted that several EU capitals may not be particularly open to setting timelines – albeit only indicative ones – for new countries joining the Union, as they are reluctant to delegate authority to the Commission in this policy area and to make political commitments on enlargement. A lot will depend on the format chosen for putting the accession roadmaps before the Council, which has the final say on the issue.
The Enlargement Package comprises a communication and country-specific reports. The Enlargement Communication is a strategic document reviewing key developments over the past year, including recommendations on how to advance the process. The country-specific reports provide detailed assessments of each candidate’s progress and remaining gaps, particularly in critical areas such as the rule of law, offering an in-depth analysis of the reforms needed to align national legislation with EU standards.
