The European Commission has published its Enlargement Report, assessing Ukraine’s progress on its path toward EU integration. The Reanimation Package of Reforms Coalition (RPR) has analyzed the document — here are the key takeaways.

1. Ukraine has fulfilled the conditions for opening three out of six negotiation clusters:

• Cluster 1: Fundamentals (rule of law, public administration reform, democracy)

• Cluster 2: Internal Market

• Cluster 6: External Relations

2. Positive assessments were given to: public administration reform, economic criteria, the customs union, and progress in the area of justice, freedom, and security.

3. The European Commission also highlighted the adoption of:

• Roadmaps on the rule of law, public administration, and democratic institutions;

• Action Plan on national minorities.

At the same time, the report includes several recommendations, particularly those related to the civil service reform (such as restoring competitive recruitment), filling judicial vacancies, appointing judges to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, and safeguarding the independence of anti-corruption institutions, among others.

A significant share of these recommendations continues to be advocated by civil society organizations. Olga Lymar, Executive Director of the Coalition, noted: “The European Commission’s Enlargement Report not only demonstrates Ukraine’s substantial progress in implementing reforms, but also confirms its readiness to open three out of six clusters. Let us recall that the opening of the first cluster — Fundamentals — is currently politically blocked by Hungary. Some of the Commission’s recommendations overlap with those in the Ukraine Facility Plan, where, indeed, we are seeing certain delays. It is important for us to understand not only the conditional progress or setbacks and the list of recommendations, but also the clear algorithm behind how these assessments are determined”.

Read the full report at the link.