’Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations are gradually shifting from major political decisions to less visible but far more complex technical work: fulfilling the commitments undertaken as part of the negotiation process.’, Ukrainian Pravda, one of Ukraine’s news outlets writes in an article based on a joint study by the Center for Civil Liberties, Europe Without Barriers, Center of Policy and Legal Reform, Anti-Corruption Research and Education Centre under NaUKMA Ukrainian Centre for European Policy. Outpacing Albania.
The authors of the article stress that Kyiv cannot afford the Montenegro scenario: a decade of slow movement, inconsistency and loss of political momentum. Instead, Ukraine’s interest is to replicate the Albanian experience – fulfilling the so-called interim benchmarks under The Fundamentals Cluster in less than two years – , and possibly even exceed its pace.
Thus, on the path to EU membership, the key is how Ukraine should meet these interim benchmarks which were established by the European Union under Chapters 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights) and 24 (Justice, Freedom and Security) of the Fundamentals Cluster (1).
The interim benchmarks concern the following areas:
• judiciary
• anti-corruption sphere
• fundamental human rights
• migration, asylum, and border management
• law enforcement
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has recently said that ’Europe could face enormous difficulties’ without Ukraine and its experience in resisting Russian aggression. The Ukrainian president also noted that among all European nations that have already joined the European Union or aspire to do so, Ukraine is making the greatest sacrifice for Europe.
’We are not simply carrying out internal reforms, nor are we simply going through a transformation. We are fighting for our state, for our independence, and for our right to choose our own path and to be Europe. And this right of ours is at the same time the right of every nation in our region.’, Zelenskyy said. He added that Ukraine is ready to open all six clusters in its accession negotiations with the European Union. ’We expect to achieve more results this summer for our integration into the European Union. At least from our side, there will be no delays. And it is very important that our partners also feel the full significance of this process,’ the Ukrainian president noted.
With regard to Ukraine’s EU accession, it should be kept in mind that the implementation of interim benchmarks may encounter a number of risks capable of slowing or even blocking the progress of accession.
The anti-corruption sphere remains politically sensitive in Ukraine, which creates a risk of delays or partial implementation of key decisions.
It should be noted that, despite repeated promises to implement reforms over the decades, Ukraine has repeatedly failed to introduce effective anti-corruption measures.
It is also worth mentioning the numerous cases that have come to light during the years of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine which have shown members of Ukraine’s military leadership routinely embezzling the country’s war budget. The war-time situation has proved to be ideal for corrupt government figures and other top officials to obtain illicit wealth.
Less than a year has passed since President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an effort to protect his political allies and closest friends, decided to dismantle the independence of anti-corruption agencies – however, he revoked this measure a few days later due to widespread domestic protests and international criticism. This incident was followed by the so-called ’Mindichgate’ scandal, which caused outrage among both Ukrainian citizens and the European public. In this case, Ukrainian authorities uncovered the embezzlement of approximately €100 million in the country’s energy sector, in which some of the Ukrainian president’s closest friends and aides were implicated. One of them, the head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, also resigned from his post in November 2025 as a result of the scandal. He is facing trial, denying any involvement in one of the biggest corruption scandals in Ukraine’s history.
In light of all this, Ukraine needs to convincingly demonstrate tangible change in the areas of legislation and judicial system in order to meet the interim criteria as part of the EU accession process; otherwise, the EU can halt the process at any time.
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