Primary Law
4 instrumentsAccession conference opened June 2024. Chapter 18 (Statistics) screening completed with positive report — first chapter fully cleared. Chapters 16 (Taxation), 19 (Social Policy) under complex screening. War creates sui generis legal complexity. Commission milestone reviews quarterly. Ukraine Facility (€50B) conditional on reform progress.
Most advanced Western Balkans candidate. All 33 chapters opened, 3 provisionally closed. Rule of law chapters (23, 24) remain blockers. New government (since 2023) accelerating reforms. Commission considering target date of 2028–2030 if benchmarks met.
Accession conference opened same day as Ukraine. Pro-EU government under President Sandu. Transnistria frozen conflict complicates accession. Russian hybrid threats ongoing. Constitutional referendum approved EU integration (2024).
EU of 30–36 members requires: QMV expansion (eliminate unanimity in CFSP/taxation), Commission size reduction, EP seats reallocation, weighted voting recalibration. Franco-German non-paper proposes “multi-speed Europe” with differentiated integration. Treaty change likely required (Convention method).