On June 30, 2026, Leo Litra, Senior Research Fellow at the New Europe Center, presented the Membership Check, an independent monitoring of Ukraine’s progress in implementing key EU-related reforms, at the European Policy Centre in Brussels. The monitoring was presented jointly with representatives of other organizations participating in the expert coalition.

During the presentation, Leo Litra noted that Ukraine has the capacity to demonstrate stronger results in advancing its reform agenda. He called for the opening of all negotiating clusters with the EU in line with the European Commission’s 2025 recommendations, stressing that “the ball has to be fully on the Ukrainian side, so that the work would focus on reforms and not on excuses”.

Leo Litra also emphasized that better coordination between the EU, Ukraine, and civil society is essential to ensuring that reforms align with Ukraine’s European aspirations, comply with the EU acquis, and reflect a whole-of-society approach.

The Membership Check initiative builds on the experience of the previous “Candidate Check” monitoring series, launched by the New Europe Center together with a coalition of leading think tanks and civil society organizations following Ukraine’s acquisition of EU candidate status in June 2022. Full results of the monitoring are available on the New Europe Center website.

Expert coalition consists of leading think tanks and civil society organizations that specialises in European integration, as well as relevant reforms (particularly in the areas of the rule of law and the fight against 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