A coalition of eight think tanks and civil society organizations has released an independent expert assessment of progress in implementing priority reforms on Ukraine’s path to EU membership. The report analyzes 10 priorities identified jointly by Ukraine and the EU in December last year.
Key findings of the first report:
- Key reforms remain at the preparation stage, with progress largely limited to drafting or discussing legislative changes.
- A window of opportunity exists to accelerate progress: mobilizing efforts can help make up for lost time, deliver tangible results, and strengthen Ukraine’s position in the negotiation process.
- Some prepared initiatives are not yet public or do not fully meet the defined benchmarks.
The full report is available here: https://neweurope.org.ua/en/analytics/chlenstvo-check/
The goal of this expert monitoring is to support Ukraine’s progress toward EU membership through an independent assessment of key reforms. Timely and high-quality implementation of commitments will demonstrate Ukraine’s capacity to deliver systemic change. A positive independent assessment will also help address concerns among policymakers, experts, and citizens in EU member states by showing that Ukraine is implementing the necessary reforms—particularly in the areas of rule of law and anti-corruption. At the same time, we proceed from the understanding that European integration reforms are прежде всего needed by Ukrainians themselves.
At this stage, the expert coalition based its research on 10 key reform priorities outlined in the Joint Statement of EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos and Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Taras Kachka of December 11, 2025 (the “Kachka–Kos plan”). Further monitoring will track reform dynamics, with assessments planned approximately every two months.
On March 23, 2026, the New Europe Center, in partnership with National Interest Advocacy Network «ANTS», organized a roundtable that brought together key stakeholders in European integration—government officials, MPs, and experts from Ukraine and the EU. One of the main conclusions echoed across interventions was the urgent need to relaunch the domestic “reform engine.” Ukraine has already undergone complex transformations, but the final stage of reforms—particularly in the rule of law—remains decisive for further progress.
Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka emphasized that Ukraine has already implemented the most difficult transformations, including establishing anti-corruption infrastructure and reforming the judiciary. However, the “fine-tuning” stage is the most vulnerable and often underestimated. In this context, he stressed that the success of the negotiation process fully depends on Ukraine’s internal capacity to demonstrate consistency and coherence in meeting benchmarks set by EU member states.
The new expert initiative “Membership Check” builds on previous experience in independently monitoring EU integration reforms. In June 2022, Ukraine was granted EU candidate status along with seven recommendations from the European Commission, the implementation of which was necessary for further progress. In response, the New Europe Center, together with a coalition of leading think tanks and civil society organizations, launched the “Candidate Check” initiative—an independent expert monitoring of these recommendations. The initiative proved to be an effective tool for public oversight of Ukraine’s EU commitments. The current monitoring continues this tradition: key organizations involved in “Candidate Check” are also participating in the new “Membership Check” phase.
The expert coalition includes leading think tanks and civil society organizations specializing in European integration and related reforms (particularly in the areas of rule of law and anti-corruption):
- Anti-corruption Center MEZHA
- European Pravda
- National Interest Advocacy Network «ANTS»
- DEJURE Foundation
- New Europe Center
- Centre of Policy and Legal Reform
- Anti-Corruption Action Center
- Transparency International Ukraine
