BRUSSELS, November 4. /TASS/. The European Commission (EC) is preparing a more cautious European Union accession plan for Ukraine, decoupling its application from that of Moldova, due to the inability to conclude preliminary negotiations in a number of areas, Politico reported, citing the document it obtained.

The new roadmap for Ukraine’s EU accession will set limited, targeted progress milestones for 2027, while omitting any commitments regarding a potential date for accession.

In the document, Brussels urges Kiev to promptly and significantly accelerate the pace of reforms in the area of the rule of law, to open new negotiating clusters, with key requirements in this field to be met by the first half of 2027.

The European Commission’s updated roadmap highlights a growing divergence in the progress made by Ukraine and Moldova toward EU accession. Brussels currently hopes to conclude negotiations with Moldova in more than 20 policy areas by 2027, compared to only seven with Ukraine.

According to preliminary assessments by the European Commission, Moldova could have opened most of its negotiation clusters as early as July. However, it remains locked in the same enlargement group as Ukraine.