The European Commission has recorded the best progress of Ukraine on its way to the EU in three years: what to expect next
5 November 20:24
on November 4, the European Commission released its annual report on Ukraine as part of the EU’s 2025 Enlargement Package, a key document that assesses how far a candidate country has progressed in implementing reforms and approximating EU standards and legislation(acquis communautaire). This was reported by the Ministry of Economy, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
This year, Ukraine received the highest scores in three years, which indicates its readiness to move to the next stage – the opening of negotiating clusters for membership.
Key results
The European Commission recognized “good progress” (4 out of 5) in a number of areas:
- The presence of a functioning market economy;
- Ability to withstand competitive pressures within the EU;
- Consumer protection and healthcare;
- Environment and climate change;
- Agriculture and rural development.
Ukraine received a score of “some progress” (3 points), in particular, in the following sections:
Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture Oleksiy Sobolev said that the European Commission’s document confirmed the systematic work of the government, parliament and president in the field of reforms.
- Free movement of goods;
- Intellectual property rights;
- Social policy and employment;
- Entrepreneurship and industrial policy.
There is not a single section with a negative assessment or “rollback” in the report.
What they say in Kyiv
“The Ministry of Economy has implemented a number of important reforms in the areas of investment, business support, privatization, intellectual property, green transition, and agriculture. I am grateful to everyone who is working to bring Ukraine closer to the EU,” Sobolev emphasized.
Next steps
As Ukraine prepares to open negotiations on new clusters, it must also implement the European Commission’s recommendations on
- rule of law
- public administration reform;
- strengthening democratic institutions.
The worst indicators
The European Commission’s first report on Ukraine under the Enlargement Package (2023) recorded low scores – mostly 2 points (“limited progress”), in particular in the areas of anti-corruption, judiciary, civil service, and public finance control.
In 2024, the situation partially improved, with some areas (consumer protection, freedom of enterprise) rising to a score of 3. However, Ukraine still made only minimal progress in the areas of public administration, anti-corruption policy, and energy.
The current 2025 report was the first to give the country a score of 4 in several areas, bringing it closer to the level of countries already negotiating accession.
The EU’s Enlargement Package is an annual assessment of the state of reforms in candidate countries, which determines the priorities for integration and opening negotiations.
The accession process covers 6 clusters and 33 sections related to the economy, environment, public administration, labor market, competition, agricultural policy, etc.
Ukraine was granted candidate status in 2022, and since 2024 has been screening its legislation to harmonize it with EU standards.
