Commission sets out a path to EU membership for Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine as Georgia remains a candidate only on paper
The annual enlargement package gives four countries milestones for the coming year, while Serbia, Turkey and Georgia receive a far cooler assessment.
The European Commission presented its annual enlargement package on Wednesday, and for the first time it contains indicative roadmaps for four candidate countries. According to the Commission, Montenegro has already provisionally closed 21 negotiating chapters and could wrap up the rest this year if member states agree. Albania has opened its last cluster and wants to conclude negotiations in 2027. Moldova is aiming for early 2028 and Ukraine for the end of 2028. Brussels says both meet the conditions to open all remaining clusters, although Ukraine now mainly needs to make progress on the rule of law.
New Union Post outlines how things could unfold for Montenegro: negotiations could be finished as early as December, after which the accession treaty would be drafted in spring 2027 and signed in June 2027. All dates remain provisional because the member states in the Council take the decisions, the site stresses. The Commission is also proposing a framework that would let candidate countries take part step by step in EU programmes for energy, transport, digital affairs and defence once they are ready.
Other countries get a harsher verdict. According to the Commission, Serbia made no substantial progress in an increasingly polarised climate and aligns little with EU foreign policy. New Union Post says the country could still get a roadmap if the new government led by the Student List returns to the European track. On Turkey, Brussels says the gap between its declared goal of membership and its democratic backsliding has widened. The Commission describes Georgia as a candidate in name only, with its accession effectively frozen.
EU foreign ministers will hold an in-depth discussion in January on possible new measures against Georgia, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said, according to Euronews. She said it was too early to say whether she would propose sanctions. In 2024 Hungary and Slovakia blocked sanctions against Georgian officials, but Hungary has since changed government. Since March 2026, Georgians holding diplomatic passports no longer have visa-free access to the EU, a measure that must be extended by 6 January 2027 to remain in force, Euronews reports.