A shadow report on EU accession has revealed a stagnation in reforms in Ukraine
A shadow report by civil society organizations on Ukraine’s compliance with the conditions for accession to the European Union found that reforms in a number of key areas are moving slowly or showing no progress at all. Most of the concerns relate to judicial reform, the work of the prosecutor’s office, the legal profession, and anti-corruption policy.
Over the next few weeks, the European Commission is set to publish its annual report on EU enlargement, which assesses the progress of candidate countries on their path to membership. For Ukraine, this will be the fourth such assessment.
Meanwhile, the Shadow Report—prepared by independent Ukrainian experts at the request of the European Commission—was released on October 19. The document, which is about 1,300 pages long, assesses Ukraine’s fulfillment of its commitments under negotiation chapters 23 and 24, as well as in the area of democratic institutions. The European Commission takes its conclusions into account when preparing its official assessment of Ukraine’s progress.
In most chapters, the experts note a lack of progress or only limited progress. The report covers the period from September 2025 through August 2026.
In judicial reform, experts note moderate progress in competitive selection procedures that were launched earlier. At the same time, the strategy for developing the justice system remains unapproved, although it was supposed to take effect in early 2026.
In the area of the prosecutor’s office, key EU integration recommendations and commitments remain unfulfilled or only partially fulfilled. Regarding the legal profession, “no progress in the area of reform was recorded during the reporting period.”
One of the few areas of judicial reform where some progress has been noted is legal education. In particular, the Law “On Academic Integrity” was adopted.
Progress in the fight against corruption also remains limited. Positive changes are mostly isolated, while systemic legislative changes envisaged by the rule-of-law roadmap have largely not been implemented.
Experts highlight the lack of transparency in plea agreements and the failure to track the enforcement of confiscation orders. Concerns have also been raised regarding pressure on anti-corruption agencies.
No progress has been noted in certain areas of human rights protection either. In particular, experts point to problems with the independence of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights. Furthermore, according to the authors of the document, the current legal framework for personal data protection does not meet European standards.
The annual enlargement report is prepared using a uniform methodology for all candidate countries. The document allows for comparing progress and evaluating reforms across various areas.
According to “European Truth,” the European Commission is discussing a proposal to raise Ukraine’s rating in light of its previous achievements. It is noted that Ukraine may have been underestimated. Over the past three years, certain reforms have taken place, yet the assessment under Chapters 23 and 24 has remained unchanged. All three previous documents indicated “some compliance with EU law.”
During the discussion of the shadow report, Asier Santillán Luzuriaga, a representative of the EU Delegation to Ukraine, recalled that several years ago the task was to establish anti-corruption institutions, whereas now the focus is on specific sectoral reforms.
At the same time, experts assessed that progress during the reporting period was insufficient.
Separately, experts emphasize that the adoption of laws does not guarantee the successful implementation of reforms. Their practical implementation is of paramount importance.
Source: Shadow Report
