УКРАЇНА У ВИРІ МІЖНАРОЖНОЇ ІНТЕГРАЦІЇ

Abstract

The process of international integration is considered as a result of modern global economic processes. The preconditions of international integration and the specifics of the conditions for Ukraine are analyzed. The geographical closeness of the countries is defined as an important, but not a single prerequisite for the international integration of the countries. The closeness of the levels of economic development and the degree of market maturity of the integrating countries is determined as strategic precondition for effective international integration. The existence of a significant gap between the level of economic development of Ukraine and the degree of market maturity of the European Union is emphasized and the threats to the country's integration in such conditions are listed. The evolution of international integration processes on the territory of the former Soviet Union, which directly or indirectly concerned Ukraine, is studied: CIS, Customs Union, Common Economic Space, Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC), and GUAM. The list of important arguments in favor of the European direction of Ukraine's international integration is determined. The Copenhagen criteria for the integration of Eastern countries into the European Union are considered: political, economic, organizational (commitments), legal. The danger of the consumer strategy of national economy development, which is a threat to Ukraine's European integration, is emphasized. It is concluded that Ukraine cannot remain outside economic and political groups because it is not only in the geographical center of Europe, but also in the vortex of world trade, the center of intersection of transport routes and geopolitical events influenced by the imperial ambitions of the Russian Federation. It is summed up that the European Union remains a strategic direction of Ukraine's international integration, which will provide long-awaited static and dynamic economic effects, safe living conditions and welfare of the population.