2026 Enlargement Package: energy and environment requirements for candidate countries

The European Commission adopted its annual Enlargement Package on 4 November 2026, taking stock of the progress of the enlargement partners during the reporting period and setting reform priorities for the period ahead.

The Commission said that reform efforts translated into progress towards EU membership, citing Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine, across which clusters opened and chapters were provisionally closed at “an unprecedented pace”. For these four countries, which it called “the most advanced negotiating [ones]”, it presented indicative roadmaps with milestones for 2027, as President Ursula von der Leyen announced in her 2026 State of the Union address.

The country reports included recommendations on energy and on environment and climate change, such as implementing the…