EU candidate countries neglect rule of law amid enlargement rush (euobserver.com)

• NGOs report candidate countries neglect rule of law, transparency
• Ukraine: anti-corruption reforms stalled; laws only passed if tied to EU
• Albania: bypasses civil society consultation, high corruption levels

"NGOs warn that EU candidate countries like Albania, Ukraine, and Bosnia are passing EU-aligned laws while neglecting transparency and anti-corruption. Albania bypasses civil society consultation; Ukraine's anti-corruption progress has stalled. Georgia freezes NGO accounts. Experts call for genuine rule-of-law reforms rather than box-ticking."