Remarks by High Representative/Vice-President Kallas and Commissioner Kos on the 2026 Enlargement Package

High Representative/Vice-President Kallas

Good afternoon.

Today, the European Commission adopted the annual report on Enlargement, a scorecard of 10 accession countries.

Since last year's edition, Europe's security outlook has deteriorated sharply.

War, strategic competition, and economic uncertainty have increased. There is little hope for an immediate end to Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine. Gray zone attacks and sabotage against Europe are on the rise.

There is strength in numbers. A larger Union means also strengthening Europe's security, growing our geopolitical weight on the geopolitical arena, and also our ability to project influence. It means a larger market and new opportunities for our economies.

Today's report carries a clear message: reforms bring results. Membership is moving closer for countries that deliver. For the first time, we introduce roadmaps for accession negotiations with Montenegro, Albania, Moldova, and Ukraine.

These four countries are the frontrunners for membership. Commissioner Kos will take you through the country assessments in detail. But let me just make the most important points for European security: Montenegro is the closest to finish line, with a clear path in signing accession treaty by next summer. Albania has opened all negotiation clusters in just over a year. The task now is to sustain the pace by accelerating reforms. Moldova continues to advance despite unprecedented external pressure. Its commitment to reform and alignment with the European Union legislation has remained consistent. Ukraine is carrying sweeping reforms under Russian bombs, no candidate country has ever undertaken reforms of this scale while being at war, and this deserves recognition. Based on Ukraine's progress, we should move to open all negotiation clusters before the end of the year. For Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Serbia, the outlook is uneven.

Türkiye remains a candidate country and a key partner, but the conditions that brought its accession to standstill remain.

Georgia has been on a collision course with the EU over democratic backsliding and fundamental rights, Georgia's accession remains de facto halted. Merit and reforms will continue to determine the pace of accession, as does adherence to the rule of law and fundamental rights.

I want to stress that the commitments made on the road to membership do not expire after accession.

This year's report brings the security dimension of the enlargement into sharper focus. For the first time, it includes a dedicated section for Security and Defence.

Over the past year, most candidate countries have increased and maintained high levels of alignment with the EU's Foreign and Security Policy, and this is an important expression of their strategic orientation and adherence to EU values. Many candidate countries already contribute to Europe's security. Ukraine is Europe's first line of defence against Russia. Kyiv's battlefield experience is second to none, and it is critical for Europe's security and defence readiness.

Moldova and our Western Balkans partners contribute to EU missions and operations. They help to protect our borders and counter foreign information manipulation. These contributions also strengthen our security. Already today, a larger Union can build on them tomorrow. For decades, enlargement has been the EU's most successful foreign policy.

Every round of enlargement has strengthened our continent. Today's geopolitical reality makes the next round even more urgent.

Where countries that progress are left waiting, instability takes root. Enlargement is direct investment in Europe's security.

Commissioner Kos

The Enlargement Package we are presenting today shows that enlargement is moving forward.

This year, the enlargement process has delivered more results than at any point in the past 25 years. Only in this year, we have opened or closed 61 chapters, 30+ to go until the end of the year. This is the achievement not just of the candidates, not just of European Commission, it is also the achievement of the Member States, who supported every step in the accession process. The slide behind me clearly shows our common success.

There are three novelties in this report:

First the Commission has put forward a set of indicative roadmaps for the four countries, Kaja you have mentioned, which have made most progress towards EU membership over the past year.

These roadmaps provide greater predictability and help guide the accession negotiations.

For Montenegro, the roadmap covers milestones leading up to EU membership. For Albania, Moldova and Ukraine, they present an outlook for the year ahead.

The progress of those four countries shows that advancing towards EU membership depends on political will and political choices.

Every candidate country can join the group of countries advancing fast. We encourage all candidate countries to make that choice.

Second, the Commission is putting forward a new model for gradual integration.

We want more Europe ahead of membership for our candidates. This brings clear benefits for candidate countries and EU Member States and serves shared strategic priorities.

In the first quarter of next year, we will launch gradual integration dialogues with enlargement countries to take stock of existing measures and explore further opportunities for integration. You can find description for each four frontrunners on the gradual integration in the roadmaps.

Third, Kaja you have been talking about this very important dimension, is a new focus on the interconnected nature of European security. Developments in enlargement countries have direct consequence for our security. Disinformation, cyberattacks and organised crime affect us all.

Integrating candidate countries into EU security structures means better information sharing and more coordinated action. We gain greater control over migration and organised crime, and strengthen Europe's capacity to withstand external pressures.

This strengthens Europe as a whole.

Now country by country.

With Montenegro, we have one country on the final lap of the EU accession.

For the first time since 2011, when the EU closed accession negotiations with Croatia, we are in a position to close accession negotiations with another candidate country.

The country has also made decisive progress on the fundamentals, with good results in the rule of law, economic governance, statistics and public administration reform.

The country has already closed 21 negotiating chapters, 14 to go. That is two-thirds of all chapters. And the Commission's assessment is that Montenegro has met the conditions to close all remaining chapters.

Accession negotiations could realistically be closed by the end of this year.

Work on Montenegro's accession treaty is already under way. Montenegro is on track to become the 28th EU Member State in 2028 and we could sign the accession treaty at the earliest in June 2027.

Albania is a frontrunner that is keeping the pace.

In just over a year, Albania opened all negotiating clusters. It has met the interim benchmarks on the fundamentals and provisionally closed its first four chapters. This is an important achievement.

Albania needs to maintain the pace of reforms, to move towards closing the remaining chapters.

At the heart of every reform effort must be the rule of law, an independent judiciary, media freedom and the protection of fundamental rights.

This matters not only for EU membership, but also for Albanian society and citizens' everyday lives.

A meaningful involvement of the whole society is essential to ensure a robust legislative process and reforms that deliver results in practice.

Moldova, I used to say that it is the best student in my class, then I have to say it is the best performer in my class. Moldova is leaping forwards.

Despite unprecedented external pressures, Moldova has made remarkable progress on its European path. The country has shown strong determination to accelerate reforms, including difficult reforms such as the vetting of judges.

The Commission has assessed that Moldova has met the conditions to open all remaining negotiating clusters. The country has also made substantial progress towards the objective of meeting the interim benchmarks on the fundamentals before the end of the year.

Greater focus on implementation and enforcement will be essential.

This includes building a solid track record of investigations, prosecutions and final court rulings in corruption cases.

The next priority will be to bring growth to Moldova's economy, create more jobs and strengthen energy security.

Ukraine continued to advance towards EU membership under the most difficult circumstances.

More than four years into Russia's war of aggression, Ukraine has continued to implement reforms during the reporting period, with momentum recently accelerating.

There is no other country that is advancing towards EU membership under such difficult circumstances.

Ukraine's progress demonstrates the determination of its people to build their future within the European Union.

We expect to open all remaining negotiating clusters by the end of this year.

The joint task force we launched in October is poised to advance essential rule of law and anti-corruption reforms. It will help Ukraine advance toward the interim benchmark assessment report in the first half of 2027.

Further progress on the rule of law will be essential to sustaining reform momentum.

This will require unity in Ukraine, between the government, the Verkhovna Rada and civil society.

The progress we have seen this year also highlights an important difference between our candidate countries.

Some have advanced substantially towards membership. I have mentioned them. In others, progress has been slow or we have seen regression.

These differences show why political choices matter.

North Macedonia has improved its preparedness, even though the handbrake on its accession negotiations is still on.

North Macedonia has recently accelerated reforms under the Growth Plan and is working hard to improve preparedness for EU membership. Now, we need to see more progress in the fight against corruption and in implementing public administration reform.

In terms of alignment with EU legislation, North Macedonia is among the countries with the highest preparedness.

To unlock the next stage of accession negotiations and open the fundamentals cluster, cluster 1, the country needs to adopt the constitutional changes agreed in 2022 with the EU, concerning the inclusion of minorities.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, we have seen an increasing disengagement from the EU path. Bosnia and Herzegovina urgently needs to appoint a Chief Negotiator and adopt important judicial reforms. Without these steps, the Commission cannot propose a negotiating framework to the Council.

Following the elections, Bosnia and Herzegovina has an opportunity to demonstrate renewed commitment to reforms and make progress towards opening accession negotiations.

Kosovo needs political stability to unlock progress on the EU path.

The government has been in a caretaker mode for most of the reporting period. It is good to see that the EU accession process is a political priority for the new government; however, the amendments to the Kosovo Specialist Chambers risk stalling the process. Commitments need to be respected.

In Serbia, we have seen backsliding across the fundamentals. The new government will have the chance to reverse course.

The country is among the candidates with the highest alignment with EU law and well prepared for the single market and competitiveness. However, accession negotiations have stalled over the past years.

Serbia made further steps backwards on fundamental rights, in particular in the freedom of expression, public administration and academic freedom.

It has the chance for a fresh start. The new Serbian government has an opportunity to turn the page, strengthen democratic institutions and fundamental rights, and take the necessary steps to advance on Serbia's accession path.

In Georgia, we have witnessed a rapid erosion of the rule of law and restrictions on fundamental rights.

Georgia's EU accession process has de facto halted.

The situation has deteriorated further, with serious democratic backsliding, a rapid erosion of the rule of law and restrictions on fundamental rights.

The European path remains open if the Georgian authorities change course and recommit to democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights. Our support for the European aspirations of the Georgian people remains unchanged.

Türkiye remains a candidate country and a strategic partner for the European Union.

We share strategic interests in several key areas, including migration, trade, transport and energy.

European leaders have underlined the EU's strategic interest in developing a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship with Türkiye.

However, recent developments concerning fundamental rights and the rule of law, including judicial independence, media freedom, the rights of LGBTIQ+ people and local democracy, have widened the gap between Türkiye and its objective of joining the EU.

The underlying conditions for the standstill in accession negotiations remain in place.

To conclude, the Enlargement Package we are presenting today is much more than just a collection of country reports. It is much more than an assessment of reforms, benchmarks and progress.

It is about the future of our Europe.

It is about whether we have the courage to complete the European project, to bring our continent closer together, to extend the area of peace, democracy and prosperity, and to make Europe stronger in a world that is becoming increasingly uncertain.

This will require political courage, trust and hard work - from both sides.

But let us remember: the European Union was never simply a project about institutions, markets and treaties. It was, and remains, a project about people, freedom, peace and the possibility of living together.

Our task is not simply to manage enlargement. Our historic opportunity is to make European unification happen.

And the 2026 Enlargement Package is another important step in that direction.