Ukraine and the European Union have agreed on a series of reforms Kyiv must undertake to bolster the rule of law and keep its bid to join the 27-member bloc on track, officials said. Speaking in Ukraine’s Lviv on Thursday, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said the plan included 10 “reform priorities,” all of which concerned the need to bolster judicial institutions. The pact comes weeks after the largest corruption scandal to hit Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in early 2022, affecting close associates of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “The Commission … sees this new phase in the negotiations as an opportunity to pick up speed and intensity” in Kyiv’s bid to join the EU, Kos said. The 10 points agreed “all focus on strengthening rule of law, fighting corruption and building strong, accountable democratic institutions in Ukraine.” In a statement co-signed by Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Kos hailed the completion of a “bilateral screening process.” The commissioner also noted that technical work to open six so-called negotiating clusters had been completed even as Hungary continues to block the formal opening of accession talks with Kyiv, a step that requires the approval of all 27 EU member states. Kyiv is determined to make rapid progress in its bid to join the EU, and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has encouraged the mission, saying Ukraine’s place is inside the bloc. However, the recent corruption scandal, which saw Zelenskyy fire one of his closest aides, has dealt a setback to the process. Thursday’s reform plan aims to address the stumble. “If we do this cluster by cluster and Ukraine does its part, we can make sure that Ukraine is as ready as possible to become a member once the Hungary veto is off the table,” Swedish Europe Minister Jessica Rosencrantz told POLITICO, referring to the possibility that Hungary’s Moscow-friendly PM Viktor Orbán might be defeated in scheduled April 2026 parliamentary elections. The accession talks are at the heart of peace negotiations being led by U.S. President Donald Trump. With Washington refusing to let Kyiv into NATO, Ukraine’s bid to join the EU looms large as a major incentive for the country to keep fighting and pursuing internal reforms. “Of course in one sense an EU membership is also one kind of security guarantee,” added Sweden’s Rosencrantz, who was on the ground in Lviv. “We know also that Ukrainian people have been striving for EU membership for many years.” Among other reforms, the plan unveiled Thursday includes making “comprehensive amendments” to Ukraine’s criminal code; reinforcing its NABU anti-corruption agency; adopting a law to standardize the appointment of prosecutors; reforming the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI); appointing internationally-vetted judges to the Constitutional Court and High Council of Justice; and developing internal control systems against high-level corruption, among other points.

BRUSSELS ― Belgian police raided the EU’s foreign service and the College of Europe on Tuesday in a bombshell corruption probe — and detained two of the EU’s most powerful officials. Federica Mogherini, who once served as the EU’s top diplomat, and Stefano Sannino, a director-general in the European Commission, were questioned over allegations of fraud in the establishment of a training academy for diplomats. Mogherini was born in Rome, the daughter of a film set designer. She was elected to the Italian parliament in 2008 as an MP with the center-left Democratic Party and became Italy’s foreign minister in 2014, an appointment that, at the time, took many by surprise. The 52-year-old’s tenure was short-lived, as she was made the EU’s high representative — the foreign policy chief — the same year, a position she held until 2019. Her time in the job is perhaps most notable for her work on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. At the end of her five-year term, she became the rector of the Bruges-based College of Europe, a position she’s been in ever since. But her appointment was mired in claims of cronyism, as professors and EU officials argued that she was not qualified for the post, did not meet the criteria and applied after the deadline. She has also served as the director of the EU Diplomatic Academy, a program for junior diplomats across EU countries that is run by the College of Europe, since August 2022. It’s the academy that is at the center of the probe. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) said it has “strong suspicions” that rules around “fair competition” were breached when the EEAS awarded the tender to set up the academy. Sannino, a career diplomat from Naples with a packed CV including various roles in Rome and Brussels, has served as director-general of DG Enlargement, permanent representative of Italy to the EU, Italian ambassador to Spain and Andorra and secretary-general of the European External Action Service (EEAS). He has championed LGBTQ+ rights and is married to Catalan political adviser Santiago Mondragón. He started his current role as director-general of DG MENA, the EU’s department for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf, in February. He has lectured at the College of Europe and at the diplomatic academy. None of the people questioned has been charged. An investigative judge has 48 hours to decide on further action.

KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is under fierce pressure to fire his powerful top aide Andriy Yermak amid a corruption scandal that risks spiraling into the country’s biggest domestic political crisis since Russia’s full-scale invasion. The pressure to ditch Yermak — described to POLITICO by four senior Ukrainian officials involved in political discussions in Kyiv — poses a problem for Zelenskyy because it comes partly from within the ranks of his own Servant of the People party. The crisis looks set to come to a head on Thursday, when Zelenskyy will hold crunch meetings with government officials and members of parliament. Yermak runs the presidential office and is a sharp-elbowed political operator who has been crucial in steering Zelenskyy’s rule since he took power in 2019. Some see him as almost a co-president. The attacks on such a crucial ally could hardly come at a more sensitive moment for Zelenskyy. Kyiv faces a massive budget shortfall, and the president must convince his Western allies that Ukraine is a safe place to send billions of euros in vital funding. Two people directly involved in the political discussions said Zelenskyy would fight back and defend Yermak from the mounting criticism later this week. While there have been attempts to link Yermak directly to the snowballing corruption scandal, the campaign against him is also a sign of broader frustration — within both the opposition and Zelenskyy’s party — over Yermak’s domineering presence in the presidential office. An earlier drive by that office to strip Ukraine’s anti-corruption bureau of its independence triggered public fury in July. ENERGY SCANDAL The immediate flashpoint rocking Ukrainian politics — and fueling the attack against Yermak — is a corruption scandal in the country’s shattered energy sector. The controversy erupted last week after current and former officials were officially charged with manipulating contracts at Energoatom, the state nuclear energy company, to extract kickbacks. Government investigators say the network laundered roughly $100 million through a secret Kyiv-based office. Most have publicly denied the accusations. Yermak’s political opponents are trying to link him directly to the scandal — saying either he or one of his lieutenants is the anonymous individual referred to as Ali Baba in wiretaps related to the energy case. The NABU anti-corruption bureau, however, says it can “neither confirm nor deny” that allegation, and Yermak himself protests his innocence. “People mention me, and sometimes, absolutely without any evidence, they try to accuse me of things I don’t even know about,” he told POLITICO’s sister publication Welt in the Axel Springer Group last week, when asked directly whether he was involved. The political pitfall for Yermak — amid such a high-profile scandal — is that his adversaries accuse him of having played a lead role in seeking to strip NABU of its independence just as it was looking into the Energoatom case. “He’s the one who decided to pick a fight with NABU,” a senior Ukrainian adviser told POLITICO, asking not to be identified to be able to speak frankly. “Had he not done that, basically, they think this scandal would have just been, you know, swept under the rug or it would have come out later in a year or so,” the adviser added. “His enemies see this as an opportunity to try to get rid of him.” That view was echoed by other insiders. “Of course, Yermak’s opponents and also people that he has stripped of influence and schemes, are asking the president to fire him,” a senior Ukrainian official told POLITICO on condition of anonymity to speak candidly. DAMAGE REPAIR Zelenskyy previously attempted to repair the damage from the energy scandal by imposing sanctions on his former business partner Tymur Mindich. He also launched a reshuffle and an audit at Energoatom and other state energy companies. Mindich has fled to Israel and could not be contacted for comment. Ukrainian watchdogs and MPs, however — especially from the opposition but also from the ruling Servant of the People party — claimed he had not done enough and demanded a more thorough clean-up. All the Ukrainian officials who spoke to POLITICO expected Zelenskyy would have to address the matter directly on Thursday. Former President Petro Poroshenko, who lost elections to Zelenskyy in 2019 after a similar corruption scandal involving his own close allies, said his faction had started collecting signatures to oust the entire government, citing the need to restore public trust and reassure Kyiv’s war allies. “Ukraine is experiencing the greatest threat to its existence, starting from February 24, 2022. Now it is necessary to resolve the issue of the Ukrainian people’s trust in the government, in the Verkhovna Rada [parliament]. The issue is of partners’ trust in the state of Ukraine,” Poroshenko said in a Facebook post on Tuesday. An MP confirmed to POLITICO that dissent was also present in the president’s Servant of the People faction in the Ukrainian parliament, particularly following NABU’s release of audio tapes on which suspects in the case allegedly discuss corruption schemes. “The reason is the tapes from NABU. Everyone understands the tapes are leading to him [Yermak], and that he was behind the July crisis [regarding NABU’s independence]. If this becomes publicly known, it will undermine all [members of the] Servants [party],” said the MP, who was also granted anonymity.  “There’s a high probability he will indeed resign, but we will believe it when we see it,” the MP added. POLITICO sought comment from Yermak, but he is currently traveling in Western Europe with Zelenskyy and was not able to respond immediately. Zelenskyy is expected to address the matter when he returns. Two of the Ukrainian officials said Zelenskyy had told them he would not give in to the pressure and would keep Yermak, but that he would make some government changes, possibly bringing in some opposition figures to appease critics. “This week, there will be relevant conversations with government officials and a meeting with the leadership of the parliament and MPs of the Servant of the People faction. I am preparing several necessary legislative initiatives and principled quick decisions that our state needs,” Zelenskyy said on Tuesday, while providing no further details.  Yaroslav Zheleznyak, an outspoken critic of Zelenskyy and an opposition MP from the Holos party, told POLITICO that some MPs from the Servant of the People party were in revolt and suspected a link between Yermak and the corruption schemes. But NABU head Semen Kryvonos has publicly refused to either “confirm or deny” that Yermak features in the wiretaps from the energy sector scandal.   “Of course, they would not publicly tell you details of an ongoing investigation. Lawmakers assume that without Yermak, this all would not have happened,” Zheleznyak said. Ibrahim Naber of Welt contributed reporting.

Domènec Ruiz Devesa is president of the Union of European Federalists and was an MEP from 2019 to 2024. Negotiations on the EU’s 2028–2034 Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF) have entered a new phase of political significance. Traditionally, this process follows a familiar pattern: The European Commission proposes a draft budget, the Council bargains behind closed doors, then, at the final stage, the Parliament is called in to give or withhold consent. It’s a sequence of affairs that has long placed the Parliament in a weak position before a nearly finished deal — but not this time. In a break from previous iterations, this time the Parliament intervened early and managed to secure concessions. This is a feat that should be acknowledged. However, recognizing this success shouldn’t obscure the political stakes that remain. Following the Commission’s initial proposal, the Parliament was able to assert itself at the very start of the MFF process through a joint letter from the presidents of its main political groups, expressing clear institutional expectations, financial priorities and political conditions. As a result, the Commission offered improvements regarding the role of regional authorities in the implementation of agricultural and cohesion programs, and accepted an enhanced role for the Parliament to monitor the MFF’s execution. As previously noted by this very publication, the Parliament’s unusually early involvement was able to influence the framework before the Council began its negotiations — a notable break from precedent that should be seen as a strategic gain for parliamentary democracy at the European level. It’s a move that demonstrates the Parliament can impact the overall direction of EU governance when it acts strategically and cohesively. It suggests that parliamentary authority in budgetary affairs isn’t just a legal formality but a tool that can shape policy. And even more crucially, it is an institutional win that the Parliament should take credit for. However, it’s important to note that many in the Parliament still view these changes as insufficient. As highlighted by the Socialists and Democrats, Greens and Renew Europe groups, though this early intervention demonstrates that the Parliament can influence the MFF process, the substance of these modifications doesn’t address other structural concerns regarding the budget’s size, long-term strategic priorities or governance transparency. The decisive phase still lies ahead, and the central negotiations won’t occur between the Parliament and the Commission but between the Parliament and the Council. The Council, representing member countries, traditionally holds the stronger position — especially when unanimity is required. Still, the Parliament’s consent is indispensable. So, if it is to play an equal role in shaping the bloc’s strategic future, the Parliament must be willing to use its veto power if necessary. And in order to act effectively, it must link its consent on the MFF to broader issues beyond the budget. The MFF isn’t merely a financial plan — it is the backbone of Europe’s political priorities for the coming decade. And it shouldn’t be adopted in isolation from the bloc’s strategic goals or its capacity to act. But for that to happen, three things must take place: First, the so-called “passerelle clauses” need to be activated. This would allow the Council to shift from unanimity to qualified majority voting in specific policy areas without the need for treaty reform, which is essential to overcome persistent deadlocks. Next comes European defense. Article 42 of the Treaty on European Union provides a mutual defense clause, which could potentially lead to a common defense. In an era of heightened geopolitical tension, reliance on fragmented national capabilities is untenable. However, a credible European security posture would require joint procurement as well as shared operational planning. Therefore, linking MFF funding to concrete steps in defense integration would improve European security while also reinforcing the bloc’s global credibility. Lastly, there has to be movement on treaty reform. In November 2023, the Parliament approved a proposal to reform the EU Treaties, aiming to update the institutional framework, democratize decision-making and enhance the bloc’s capacity to act — particularly in terms of enlargement. But such reform cannot advance without political pressure, as the Council has little incentive to take up the proposal unless the Parliament conditions its agreement to the MFF on progress in the reform process. The MFF negotiations thus present a strategic opportunity. They aren’t only about allocating funds or how these funds are supervised — as fundamental as this is. They’re also about determining the direction of European integration. If the Parliament approves an MFF that doesn’t support the reforms needed to strengthen a potentially larger bloc, then its moment of influence will be wasted. The achievements of the first phase show that coordinated parliamentary action can, indeed, shape outcomes. Now, the next step is to use that influence where it matters most: in negotiations with the Council. The Parliament must be strategic and firm. Only then can it ensure that the next MFF isn’t merely a financial instrument but the foundation for a more capable, united and democratic union.

Listen on * Spotify * Apple Music * Amazon Music Russia’s war in Ukraine has given new momentum to EU enlargement — and raised a bigger question: Is the bloc itself ready to grow?  This week, host Sarah Wheaton examines the EU’s growing pains — not just the politics and geopolitics of enlargement, but also the cultural and emotional questions of identity and belonging.     She speaks with Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, head of Europa Nostra, about why Europe won’t feel complete until its whole cultural family is reunited; and with Icelandic politics professor Eirikur Bergmann on why his country may be revisiting its European path — more than a decade after freezing its EU bid.    There’s also a conversation led by POLITICO’s Gordon Repinski with Kosovo’s president, Vjosa Osmani, who reflects on her country’s long wait for membership. 

BRUSSELS — Top European ministers will travel to Ukraine next month in a show of support for the country’s application to join the EU, a move that comes as allies work around delays caused by opposition from Hungary. The informal summit of ministers for European affairs will be held in the Western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Dec. 10 and 11, according to an invitation sent to capitals Monday. The letter was sent jointly on behalf of Denmark, which currently holds the presidency of the Council of the EU, and Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Taras Kachka. “The main focus of our discussions will be Ukraine’s progress on its path to EU membership,” the document reads. “The meeting will provide an opportunity to take stock of the results achieved, to share reflections on the next steps and to reaffirm political support for Ukraine’s reform and integration efforts.” “By convening in Ukraine, we will send a clear and united political message that the future of Ukraine lies within the EU,” the message reads. Plans for the Lviv meeting come as Brussels struggles to deliver on pledges of direct support for Ukraine, with a proposal to back a €140 billion loan using frozen Russian assets still stalled over Belgian objections. Kyiv secured candidate status as a prospective member of the bloc in 2022 and has carried out wide-ranging economic, judicial and anti-corruption reforms even as Russia’s war rages across the country. However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has vowed to block Ukraine’s accession, which requires unanimous support from all EU countries, and is holding up the formal opening of negotiating chapters. Proposals to change the rules and allow that process to go ahead with just a qualified majority of support have so far failed to find sufficient backing. Instead, two officials told POLITICO, the current plan is to ensure that Ukraine — along with neighboring Moldova — can start working through the next round of reforms without waiting for formal approval, an approach being termed “frontloading.” That would position Kyiv to move quickly if the impasse is resolved. Orbán faces a tough test next year when Hungarians vote in parliamentary elections to be held no later than April 2026. His governing Fidesz party is trailing in the polls to pro-EU opposition politician Péter Magyar’s TISZA alliance. “The idea is to do as much as possible without having to wait,” said one of the officials, granted anonymity to speak freely. “Then, when Hungary no longer has a veto, we can move without delays.” Celebrating a positive report on his country’s reform progress from Brussels, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week that it will become a full member “in a fair way when Ukraine is standing for itself and when the war is over.”

Serbian lawmakers on Friday approved a luxury Trump-branded high-rise in Belgrade on the site of an architectural landmark.  The contentious project, proposed by Jared Kushner — son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump — had been on hold after several Serbian officials linked to it were charged with fraud.  Critics also objected to the plan to build the half-billion-dollar complex, which includes a hotel and apartments, on the grounds of the former Yugoslav army headquarters. The site was left in ruins after NATO’s 1999 bombing to end the Kosovo war, and has long been regarded as an unofficial memorial, as well as a landmark of 20th-century Yugoslav architecture.   Despite the controversy, Serbia’s parliament pushed the project through, with President Aleksandar Vučić’s Serbian Progressive Party passing a special law to strip the site of its cultural protections. Lawmakers took the unusual step of invoking a constitutional provision to declare the development a project of national importance, thereby allowing it to proceed.   Opposition lawmakers lashed out at the government over its decision, with center-left MP Marinika Tepić claiming Belgrade was sacrificing the country’s history simply “to please Donald Trump.”  “In a place where bombs once fell, you now plan to pour champagne,” she said.  But Vučić has argued the project is necessary to improve ties with Washington, accusing its critics of wanting to get in the way of “better relations with the Trump administration.”  Kushner, who has no official role in the White House but has frequently advised his father-in-law, has pursued a flurry of major real-estate development deals around the world in recent years, including a luxury resort in Albania. Affinity Partners, a private investment firm founded by Kushner, was gifted a 99-year lease by Serbia’s government in 2022 to build the Trump-branded development in Belgrade.  Anti-corruption activists have taken to the streets across Serbia over the past year, protesting what they describe as the government’s impunity and lack of accountability. This week, the European Commission highlighted Belgrade’s slow pace of reforms on corruption and rule-of-law standards in its annual enlargement progress report. 

Listen on * Spotify * Apple Music * Amazon Music Europe faces a growing dilemma: how to protect children online without breaking digital privacy for everyone.  A new report from the Internet Watch Foundation found that 62 percent of all child sexual abuse material discovered online last year was hosted on EU servers. It’s a shocking statistic that has left Brussels locked in a heated debate over how far new regulations should go — and whether scanning encrypted messages could be justified, even at the cost of privacy and the risk of mass surveillance.  Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO’s Sam Clark, Eliza Gkritsi and Océane Herrero to unpack Europe’s child safety regulations — and the balance between protecting kids, protecting privacy and policing platforms. The conversation also touches on the latest controversy out of France, involving Shein — the fast-fashion giant caught selling childlike sex dolls online.   Then, from Europe’s digital dilemmas to Albania’s digital experiment: Gordon Repinski, host of POLITICO’s Berlin Playbook podcast, sits down with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who has appointed the world’s first artificial intelligence minister — a virtual woman named Diella. Rama explains why he believes Diella could help fight corruption, cut bureaucracy and speed up Albania’s path toward EU membership. 

BRUSSELS — Ukraine must avoid backsliding on anti-corruption efforts to remain in the fast lane for EU membership, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said Tuesday as she prepared to unveil a report praising pro-EU reforms in Moldova, Albania and Montenegro. While lauding Kyiv’s efforts to conduct reforms during wartime, Kos pointed to concerns about the strength of anti-corruption reforms as a potential obstacle following a furor in the summer over a law that would have kneecapped the independence of anti-corruption watchdogs. “Amid the challenges caused by Russia’s war of aggression, Ukraine has demonstrated its commitment to its EU path,” Kos told European lawmakers ahead of unveiling the EU’s latest progress reports on candidate countries. “It will be essential to sustain this momentum and prevent any risk of backsliding, in particular on anti-corruption.” Facing an international outcry, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reversed course on his controversial decision to assert political control over the anti-corruption agencies and restored the independence of two corruption-fighting bodies in July. But the damage to Ukraine’s image as an A+ candidate for EU membership had already been done in the eyes of the European Commission, as well as national capitals, according to EU officials and diplomats who spoke to POLITICO ahead of the report’s unveiling later on Tuesday afternoon. The uproar led Kos to give slightly more emphatic praise for Moldova’s reform efforts in the progress report even though Chișinău’s accession bid is politically linked to that of Kyiv, and the two countries have so far advanced in lockstep. “Moldova has progressed on its accession path with accelerated speed and significantly deepened its cooperation with the EU despite the continuous hybrid threats and attempts to destabilize the country,” Kos said. Of all the countries applying to join the EU, Brussels gave the highest praise to Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine and Moldova, noting that these countries aimed to finalize their accession negotiations by the end of 2026, the end of 2027, and in 2028 for the latter two, respectively. “The coming year will be a moment of truth for all candidate countries, but especially those that presented ambitious plans to complete negotiations,” Kos added. This year’s accession report card will land amid heightened concern in Brussels and European capitals that Moscow is trying to pull EU candidates out of Brussels’ orbit and back into Russia’s sphere of influence. A recent election campaign in Moldova, in which pro-EU forces prevailed, was marred by “massive Russian interference,” according to President Maia Sandu, while Russia has openly courted Serbian leader Aleksandar Vučić, inviting him to Moscow for a military parade last May. The report card is expected to be particularly harsh on Serbia, the largest EU candidate country in the Western Balkans, which has received visits from both European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Council President António Costa in the past few months. “In Serbia, the authorities continue to declare EU membership as their strategic goal, but the actual pace of implementation of reforms has slowed down significantly,” Kos told the lawmakers.  But the harshest words were reserved for Georgia, where a Moscow-friendly ruling party has been cracking down on pro-democracy, pro-EU protests. “In Georgia, the situation has sharply deteriorated, with serious democratic backsliding,” Kos said. “The Commission considers Georgia a candidate country in name only.”

Alexandru Munteanu was sworn in as Moldova’s prime minister on Saturday during a ceremony attended by President Maia Sandu and the speaker of parliament, Igor Grosu. Munteanu, a 61-year-old economist who has worked at the World Bank and Moldova’s National Bank, is taking political office for the first time to help lead his country’s push for EU membership. Moldova’s parliament appointed Munteanu as prime minister on Friday, after September’s elections gave Sandu’s ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) a decisive victory over its pro-Russian rivals. “We have a unique opportunity to become the government that will bring Moldova into the European Union,” Munteanu said on Friday before the vote of confidence. The newly elected prime minister won the backing of 55 of the 101 MPs. Sandu’s PAS cruised to victory in September, securing more than 50 percent of the votes over the pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc (BEP), which won 24.2 percent of the vote. The election was marred by what officials described as an “unprecedented” Russian hybrid interference campaign aimed at undermining Moldova’s pro-European drive through disinformation, vote-buying, and attempts to incite unrest, according to national security officials. “After years of having to manage multiple crises and challenges, starting today, we need a government that focuses more on development and completes Moldova’s transformation into a modern European state,” said Sandu in a statement after Munteanu’s swearing-in. “Before you stands a country that needs trust and results. I wish you strength, wisdom in your decisions, and unity in your actions. May it be an auspicious beginning, and may you have success in all you do for the good of the Republic of Moldova and its people,” said Sandu, addressing the new government’s Cabinet.