Grohovska A. S., Lakey I. M., Lobanova V. V.

Oles Honchar Dnipropetrovsk National University

UKRAINE'S INTEGRATION: THE EUROPEAN UNION OR THE COMMON ECONOMIC SPACE

At present the question of Ukraine's inability to stay out of the international integration processes and the choice of the way of development, i.e. integration into the EU or the CES, arose. The prospect of becoming a full member of the inter­national community appeared for Ukraine, basing on its principles and preserving national characteristics. This is especially relevant for our country at this stage of thetransformation of its economy.

The problem of integration of Ukraine lies in the fact that European Union (EU), that is one of the fastest developing integration unions, is becoming our closest neighbor and involving close cooperation with Ukraine in the near future. At the same time the emergence of a new integration association with Ukraine (Common Economic Space) says about the origin of the two-vectored foreign policy of Ukraine.

Entrance of Ukraine into the EU will permit the following things:

·  to create more attractive conditions for foreign investors, this could have a positive impact on economic development;

·  to conduct intra-regional trade effectively, there will be new opportunities for optimal location of enterprises in the integration group;

·  to provide opportunities for foreign banks to open branches in Ukraine, to attract foreign banks to the financial market of Ukraine; reduce terms of transactions, to expand spheres of services, increase lending volume by these institutions;

·  to improve the living standards of the Ukrainian people.

Obligatory condition for entering into the EU is the membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Negative aspect of coming into the WTO is the demand to give up any tax benefits.

The ability of foreign banks to offer loans on better terms will create pressure on the weak banking system of Ukraine.

Ukraine currently has an alternative to the EU integration, that is the creation of alliance with other states.

CES forming will promote the development of foreign economic relations, increasing competitiveness and strengthening the export potential of Ukraine, as well as obtaining additional investment in the industry.

It should not be expected the termination of "trade wars" within the CES. The draft agreement states that the anti-dumping and special investigations will be replaced by special rules, it will turn out that trade restrictions within the union will be preserved.

To sum everything up, it should be noted that an unequivocal choice in either direction of Ukraine's integration would bring the heaviest losses. If the CES is chosen, it would mean the recognition of the inability to solve own problems and look like a return to the policy of Russia in the eyes of the world. The choice of unequivocally European way can bring the huge financial losses, plant closures, rising unemployment at the beginning.

So, having joined to the CES, Ukraine can become a raw materials appendage of Russia. However, having entered the EU, Ukraine will receive well-established legal and legislative European system. This is a powerful argument for the Ukraine's integration into the European Union.