VIDEO // EU Enlargement Package for 2026: deputy PM for European integration explains report’s importance for Moldova

The progress made by Moldova in the European Union accession process will be assessed in the annual Enlargement Package, which the European Commission will present on November 4, 2026. The document will include a detailed analysis of developments in the candidate countries and individual roadmaps for integration. Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Cristina Gherasimov explained what this report represented and why it is important for Moldova’s European path.

„The Enlargement Package represents the annual assessment of progress for each candidate country, presented in a separate report for each country. In this report, the Commission assesses, for each negotiating chapter, the level of progress or regression recorded over the past 12 months and each country’s level of preparedness for accession. Thus, the Commission provides recommendations for the reforms to be carried out over the following 12 months, in order to advance accession preparations. These recommendations vary from one country to another, depending on the challenges candidate countries face in implementing European standards in one area or another,” Cristina Gherasimov said.

According to the deputy PM, in the report published last year, Moldova made progress in all 33 negotiating chapters, while its level of preparedness for accession increased in two-thirds of them. The areas in which progress was recorded included energy, foreign, security and defence policy, education and culture, fisheries, regional policy and cohesion, the customs union and the free movement of capital.

„This year, despite the challenges we have faced practically throughout the entire year, we worked even harder, which is why, I would like to thank all teams in the ministries and agencies that contributed to implementing the reforms undertaken as part of our country’s preparations for accession,” the official said.





Fereastră în fereastră (iframe)

Roadmap for Moldova

For the 2026 edition, the European Commission has planned more important additions to the traditional set of annual documents, building on the elements included in the communication on the assessments of the pre-accession policy, presented on October 6, reports The New Union Post.

First, they include roadmaps for the accession of Albania, Moldova, Montenegro and Ukraine. Initially announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union address on September 16, these documents are expected to establish commitments not only for the candidate countries, but also for EU member states, according to information got by The New Union Post from more sources. At present, unanimity is required throughout the entire accession process.

Each roadmap is expected to reiterate the reforms and conditions that each candidate country must fulfil in accordance with its own negotiating framework. At the same time, the documents will indicate what measures need to be taken at each stage of the accession process once the established conditions have been met, as well as indicative deadlines for closing the negotiating chapters.

These documents also aim to provide clearer political guarantees regarding the prospect of EU accession, provided that the candidate countries carry out the reforms and meet the necessary requirements. The initiative comes at a time of considerable uncertainty even regarding the accession prospects of the most advanced and best-prepared candidate countries.

The 2026 Enlargement Package will also be accompanied by a document presenting a proposal for a coherent approach to strengthening the gradual integration of all candidate countries, including by identifying the strategic areas concerned.

Chisinau to host annual EU enlargement conference

Moldova is preparing to host the annual Conference on European Union Enlargement on November 9–10. European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos is expected to attend the event and will pay a visit to Chisinau. The conference will take place at the Palace of the Republic and will bring together representatives of public institutions, civil society, the business community and the media. The agenda includes 11 topic-related sessions dedicated to progress in the EU accession process and reform priorities for 2027.