EU Ambassador urges faster reforms in Ukraine, but report points to lagging behind Moldova

Assessment of progress and reform priorities

EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova told the Ukrinform news agency that, despite the country's steady forward movement, there are areas where progress is limited and where reforms need to be accelerated. According to her, the highest results have been achieved in foreign and security policy, while meeting the rule-of-law criteria remains the most ambitious goal that Kyiv must accomplish by mid-2027. Mathernova also expressed hope that the remaining two negotiation clusters would be opened by the end of 2027, noting that Ukraine, together with Moldova, Albania and Montenegro, is among the leaders on the path to EU membership.

Diverging assessments and the corruption problem

At the same time, assessments of the pace of integration vary depending on the source. The newspaper Financial Times, citing European Commission reports, said that Ukraine is lagging behind Moldova on the path to EU membership due to ineffective efforts to root out corruption. This contradicts Mathernova's optimistic assessment, which placed Ukraine alongside the leaders of the process. Earlier, on November 4, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos declined to name a specific date for the country's possible accession to the union, underscoring the uncertainty of the timeline.

Diplomatic context and plans

Against the backdrop of these statements, various integration scenarios are being discussed. It was previously reported that the EU is preparing a 'restrained roadmap' for Ukraine's accession to the union. In addition, the Ukrainian Pravda outlet wrote that during the negotiations the question was raised of including the topic of Ukraine's EU membership in a broad package of agreements, but the specific details of this proposal are not disclosed in the available materials.