Ukraine found itself among the outsiders in the EU ranking: who outran the country in 2025.

Assessment of the European Commission for Ukraine in 2025

According to inkorr.com: A recent report from the European Commission on EU enlargement in 2025 showed that Ukraine failed to take leading positions among candidate countries. In the list of states seeking to join the EU, Ukraine ranked last, surpassed by Moldova, which outpaced us in the ranking. The relevant European Commissioner Marta Koš noted that Moldova entered the elite quartet of the best candidate countries.

Moldova not only caught up but also outran Ukraine. According to the report, both countries have approximately the same score of around 2.4 points, but Moldova's rating is slightly higher (2.44 compared to Ukraine's 2.36).

The report also points out the most active candidates for accession, who face significant difficulties that slow down their chances of joining. The outsiders of European integration include Turkey, Bosnia, Kosovo, Georgia, Serbia, and North Macedonia.

Moldova's Successes

According to this year's report, Moldova demonstrates significant achievements in the area of reforms and adaptation to EU standards. In a short time, the country has shown much faster reform pace compared to Ukraine.

Last year, our neighbor received 13 points more in the ranking, while Ukraine managed to score only 2.5 points. This indicates that Moldova is confidently moving towards leading positions.

Thus, Ukraine needs to focus on implementing reforms and approaching European standards to avoid lagging behind its neighbors and meet the EU requirements.

The European Commission emphasized that Moldova has achieved significant successes in reforming and has higher growth rates than Ukraine. This presents a challenge for the Ukrainian authorities to strive not to lag in European integration, which is an important goal for the country in the future.