BENEFITS AND WEAKNESSES OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION OF UKRAINE
УДК 339.923:061.1ЄС(477)
Гордієнко К.Д., студентка 3 курсу
ХНЕУ ім. С. Кузнеця
European integration for Ukraine is a way for modernizing its economy, overcoming technological backwardness, attracting foreign investment and new technologies, creating new jobs, improving the competitiveness of the domestic commodity producer, entering the world markets, first of all, into the EU market. As an integral part of Europe, Ukraine is guided by the model of social and economic development in the leading European countries.
The current stage of social and economic development of the state requires orientation of economic policy on the unceasing reduction of the existing gap between Ukraine and the most developed countries of the world.
European integration is a key priority of Ukraine’s foreign policy, which provides for systemic reforms in all spheres of life in accordance with the EU norms and standards. The ultimate goal of European integration is gaining Ukraine’s membership in the European Union, therefore, there is a need for a comprehensive study of the consequences of our country’s accession to the European community [1].
The data of sociological surveys of the policy analyst Maria Zolkina’s «Democratic Initiatives» after Ilko Kucheriv Foundation show that the main advantages of the EU membership are the possibility for Ukrainians to move freely, raise people’s standard of living, and free access of young people to study at universities in the EU member states. One in four Ukrainians believes that the EU membership will facilitate internal reforms in Ukraine [3]. However, it should be understood that the process of European integration is associated with deep social and economic reforms, as well as radical institutional transformations, which entails certain economic losses and will require significant investments (Table 1).
Table 1
Benefits and weaknesses of European integration of Ukraine
| Sphere | Benefits | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|
| Political | 1. If Ukraine is in the EU, it will be involved in the Common European Security and Defense Policy. 2. Stability of the political system |
1. The danger of Ukraine’s involvement in the conflict of civilizations. 2. The worsening of relations with the CIS countries 3. Uncertainty about the EU development strategy. |
| Economic | 1. Ensuring the 3. Opportunities for the dynamic development of tourism activities |
1. Moving to Ukraine harmful industries 2. Loss of competitiveness of certain industries 3. The complexity of transition to the European level of prices |
| Social | 1. Formation of the middle class 2. Reforming sphere education and social protection |
1. Deepening of the demographic decline 2. The problem of illegal migration and outflow of personnel 3. Complication of the visa regime with the eastern neighbors |
| Cultural | 1. The spread of Ukrainian culture in the EU 2. Wide access to information potential |
1. Revaluation of cultural and educational trends, which actually means convergence of social morality with the norms of the West |
The main task of the European integration process today is the completion of negotiations on the conclusion of the Association Agreement, an integral part of which is the free trade area. From January 1, 2016, the Article of the Association Agreement time limit was enforced partially, which provides for the establishment of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, which stipulates and obliges both parties to promote the implementation of European rules and standards of life in Ukraine, and for some provisions there exist specific time. So, in order to be able to integrate into the internal market of the EU, Ukraine has to bring its technical regulation system in line with European requirements, since the main obstacles to trade with the EU are not import tariffs, but technical barriers to trade, requirements for safety and quality of products, its characteristics, conformity assessment procedures. In the long term, the Agreement should increase the competitiveness of the goods produced in Ukraine, and, consequently, increase the volume of exports on the world markets. In addition, with the growth of quality of Ukrainian goods, the position of domestic producers in the domestic market will be strengthened. At the same time, Ukrainian consumers will have access to better and cheaper goods and services [1].
On the one hand, there has been an increase in the number of people who support European integration, on the other – there is some disappointment with the unifying processes in the European and Asian direction. At the same time, the proportion of those who believe that Ukraine should not join the EU, as well as the Eurasian Economic Union has increased. Half of the population (50%) believes that Ukraine will benefit from joining the European Union, while 26% believe that the country is losing more and 24% cannot judge with their assessment.
Ukrainians consider the main advantages of the EU membership to be free movement of people abroad (39%), an increase in the standard of living of people (37%), and the free access of young people to studying universities of the EU member states (34%). Almost one in four Ukrainians hopes that the EU membership will facilitate internal reforms in Ukraine. Although public perceptions of Ukrainians about key EU benefits remain stable, some have recently become more widespread. At the same time, a significant part of the population of Donbass, the East and South of Ukraine does not see any advantages in Ukraine’s EU membership. According to the respondents, the main negative consequences of European integration may be the emigration of Ukrainians abroad (33%) and the deterioration of relations with Russia and other CIS countries (27.5%). There are also fears that the final Eurovision of Ukraine will lead to an increase in unemployment (18%), loss of Russian markets (17%) and a decline in the standard of living of people (16.5%) [2].
Consequently, Ukraine, when joining the EU, should focus on the use of the very positive aspects of European integration with the optimal vector for developing a strategy and a line of conduct to prevent these threats to the territory of Ukraine. An analysis of the possible positive and negative consequences of Ukraine’s accession to the EU has shown that joining the European Union is a logical aspiration of Ukraine to a civilized rule of law and the development of a democratic society.
Integration into the European Union is a chance for Ukraine to finally become a stable state with a lot of prospects. Ukraine’s cooperation with the EU will contribute to the achievement of our country’s high European standards, raising the standard of living and well-being of its population.
REFERENCES
Науковий керівник
старший викладач Михайлова Л.З.