EU Unveils Enlargement Strategy: Ukraine To Be Offered A Roadmap

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) As EU officials have repeatedly noted, Russia's military aggression against Ukraine has made geopolitical enlargement an unconditional priority for European security as a whole.

European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said at a briefing in Strasbourg that a larger Union would increase the EU's political and economic weight in a world of fierce geopolitical competition.

A European Commission official, speaking anonymously, said this was a critical moment for enlargement policy because an enlarged Union was no longer a distant reality and would be considered soon. This, the official said, meant that the structural features of enlargement policy were important and needed to be addressed before such a decision was taken.

He stressed that the EU was absolutely clear that it was not lowering its standards.

Commenting on the main elements of the published communication, Kos said the concept of gradual integration involved a candidate country implementing agreed reforms and strategically aligning with the rest of the EU, which she described as a new element. A European Commission official also explained that gradual integration was not an alternative to full membership but rather an accelerator, as it would allow candidate countries and the EU to bring their strategic interests closer together and align them before full membership was formalized.

The European Commission official, speaking anonymously, said the EU was not moving away from the merit-based principle and that the progress made by countries that had come closest to accession was based on their own achievements. He said candidate countries had been required to fulfill their commitments and noted that, although the criteria were demanding, those countries had made impressive progress. He added that the EU welcomed this progress while also recognizing the geopolitical importance and geostrategic value of enlargement.

The European Commission emphasizes Ukraine's significant potential in food security and highlights the scale, structure and productivity of its agricultural sector.

The document says that, given the scale, structure and very high productivity of Ukraine's agricultural sector, the country's accession process would require targeted arrangements that would substantially limit financial support and market access for sensitive agricultural products while supporting Ukraine in restoring access to its historical export markets in third countries.

These targeted measures are expected to be incorporated into the EU's Common Positions on Cluster 5, "Resources, Agriculture and Cohesion," during the negotiations on Ukraine's accession.

The European Commission also highlights Ukraine's substantial practical experience and industrial capabilities in the defense sector. The document envisages deeper cooperation even before formal accession, including the use of Ukraine's association with the European Defence Fund to support innovation in the defense industry and joint European Defence Projects of Common Interest (EDPCI) aimed at strengthening the EU's defense technological and industrial base.

Read also: Ukraine and Germany to deepen partnership to support war-affected businesses

Cooperation will also cover the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) initiative and the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP).

The document highlights the successful operation of the current Ukraine Facility mechanism, which links funding to the implementation of clearly defined reforms and investment objectives. When preparing the EU's new multiannual budget for 2028–2034, the EU plans to continue this approach through the Global Europe instrument.

The document notes that Ukraine is already making progress under the EU's gradual integration program, including through its accession to the common roaming area. It says that Ukraine and Moldova joined the Roam Like at Home system on January 1, 2026, extending domestic roaming conditions to their citizens and travelers from the European Union.

The EU is also considering detailed tools for integrating energy, transport (TEN-T) and digital networks.

The European Commission confirmed its intention to present roadmaps for the most advanced candidate countries, including Ukraine. According to the Commission, building on the experience of previous enlargement rounds, the 2026 Enlargement Package will include indicative roadmaps outlining the next steps in the accession process for the most advanced negotiating countries - Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine - provided they maintain their reform momentum.

Kos said that Ukraine's roadmap, which could be presented at the end of the month together with the enlargement report, would differ from those for the other three countries because Ukraine was defending itself against Russian military aggression.

The roadmaps will provide indicative timelines for the European integration process while setting out clear results intended to provide greater predictability on the path toward accession.

Kos said that as the accession process progressed and more steps were completed in the technical negotiations - including the opening of clusters, achievement of key benchmarks and subsequent closure of clusters - it would become easier to understand the conditions that would ultimately be reflected in the accession treaty. She added that everyone wanted the war in Ukraine to end soon.

Read also: Zelensky: European politicians should support Ukraine even from pragmatic perspective

The document also reveals that the European Commission is proposing to expand the use of qualified majority voting (QMV), instead of unanimity, for interim decisions in accession negotiations, such as opening negotiating clusters, as well as in foreign policy, including sanctions.

Kos said this would reduce the number of areas in which a single country could unilaterally veto decisions supported by all the others.

The Commission's document also proposes expanding the use of qualified majority voting through the so-called passerelle clauses in areas including sanctions, human rights, civilian missions under the Common Security and Defence Policy, measures against tax fraud, fiscal measures in energy policy and social protection.

It proposes fuller use of Article 31(2) of the Treaty on European Union, which already permits QMV under certain circumstances in the Common Foreign and Security Policy, instead of the practical default use of unanimity.

At the same time, any expansion of QMV would be accompanied by existing safeguards, including an "emergency brake," under which an issue could be referred to the European Council, and the "Ioannina mechanism," which allows negotiations to continue without granting a veto, rather than creating new safeguards.

The EU Council would effectively use QMV in areas where the mechanism already exists, through clearer timelines and reforms to working methods, instead of seeking consensus according to established practice.

While the QMV proposal concerns the opening of negotiating clusters and other interim decisions in accession negotiations, the final decision on accession would remain subject to unanimity under Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union.

Read also: Ukraine's EU Accession: Kos hopes two more clusters to open next week

The document also emphasizes the importance of developing the "enhanced cooperation" mechanism for situations in which EU policy objectives cannot be achieved within a reasonable period.

According to the document, enhanced cooperation allows a group of at least nine member states to establish closer cooperation in a particular policy area, provided the requirements set out in the EU treaties are met. The European Commission recalled that enhanced cooperation had already demonstrated its effectiveness, including in establishing the loan to support Ukraine for 2026–2027.

The Commission said it would build on this experience by examining existing proposals to identify areas where enhanced cooperation could help overcome prolonged deadlock in decision-making while ensuring that the objectives of the relevant initiatives were achieved. The analysis would assess compliance with the requirements of the EU Treaties and the readiness of potential participants.

In addition to retaining traditional safeguard clauses in areas such as the single market and justice in future accession treaties for candidate countries, the Commission proposes introducing an "Institutional Safeguard" lasting for up to 15 years after accession. This would address serious violations by new member states of the EU values set out in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union. In extreme cases, countries that systematically violate these values could lose their voting rights at EU level.

The Commission also plans to expand rule-of-law assessment mechanisms and ensure that new EU members are fully prepared to participate in the work of the European Public Prosecutor's Office from the moment of accession.

As Ukrinform reported, the European Union is monitoring the work of Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada, including the adoption of expected amendments concerning national minorities, and hopes that two clusters in Ukraine's EU accession negotiations could be opened as early as next week, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said.

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