Rybinskyy A. O., master
Kyiv national linguistic university
The consequence of the collapse of
the Soviet Union to Ukraine was the appearance of a new government center and
its borders. As a result of this, appeared periphery. Since that time, social
and economic disproportion between territories has become only deeper. In the central regions there was an excessive concentration of population and
production, while in remote regions of the country the
development has
considerably slowed down. It is the latter, which contains significant
potential, which efficiency of realization depends on the role of border
regions of Ukraine, defined by the state authority for socio-economic
development.
The topicality of the question is
stipulated by the necessity to determine strategic priorities, forms and ways of
their achievement by Ukrainian government in the cooperation with other
countries, and to ensure the elimination of political and economic barriers for
the implementation of socio-economic potential of the regions and the country
as a whole, as a key factor of economic growth.
Since Ukraine’s independence, there
has been a tendency of turning to the international factor to solve its
domestic economic problems. It is in the decree of Supreme
Council of Ukraine "On the foreign policy of Ukraine" adopted in 1993
that clearly states the purpose of the long-term foreign policy of Ukraine
which is a membership in the European Community, with the development of close
relations with all its neighbors.
The main argument against clear
choice, when deciding on the direction of Ukraine's integration into a certain association,
is the features of its geopolitical position. Moreover, the peculiarities of
its historical development, existing social and cultural ties prove this. The objectivity
of solving the question depends on the degree of the powers of local authorities
to make decisions at the regional level.
Regarding continuous approximation of EU borders, the question of cross-border trading and the development of small and medium
enterprises is becoming more and more important. Proper support for small
business, which, on the one hand, is characterized by innovation and rapid
adaptation to changing conditions and, on the other hand, the creation of
conditions facilitating fair competition promote the equalization of
socio-economic development of the population of Ukraine.
The development of cross-border transport
infrastructure is also an important factor in accelerating economic
development. The main areas of the policy are defined in the Comprehensive
Program for the establishment of Ukraine as a transit country [2].
One of the
main obstacles to effective cross-border cooperation is political instability
affecting the pace, scope and, most importantly, the direction of such
cooperation. The public and small businesses cannot consider local authorities as a reliable partner due to the lack of powers, resources at this level, and the fruatration of their initial
intentions and initiative by the central government. On the other hand, the
near-boundary countries do not see sufficient arguments to build up plans of strategic development in the context of deepening Ukraine’s integration.
In Ukraine 19 of the 25 regions are
considered to be border, and their total area is about 77% of the territory.
There are around 8 functioning euroregions in Ukraine. Thereat, it is worth
noticing, there is a clear relationship: the greater euroregion is, the lower
the efficiency of its operation [3, p. 121]. The effectiveness of a euroregion is also complicated by various administrative and managerial constraints
and poor financial capacity of local governments.
Another acute problem of cross-border cooperation is connected with the
Ukrainian villages in the periphery. Continuous, inconsistent changes in
socio-economic situation leads to their spontaneous self-destruct. As
a result of this, more than 300 villages were removed from the list of villages
in 90s [1, p. 59].
A solution to a problem lies
in conducting administrative and territorial reform through decentralization and finding own financial sources of funding for cross-border cooperation
projects. The principal prerequisite for obtaining new sources of funds may be economically reasonable choice of forms of cooperation, the creation of social and industrial
infrastructure, and specialization of euroregions.
The establishment of relations
between public authorities, businesses, and non-governmental organizations of border
regions makes it possible to achieve synergetic effect from such cooperation.
Thus, cross-border
cooperation as an important part of the government foreign policy should be viewed
as the main means of realization of advantages of geopolitical
character. The main efforts of
the state should be directed at improving the efficiency of cross-border
cooperation projects,
reducing corruption in government bodies at all levels, and accomplishing of administrative-territorial reform. The defined
measures are to contribute to social and political stability of the border
areas, coordination of strategic interests of neighboring states and the
equalization of socio-economic development between central and periphery
regions.
1.
Бородіна О.
Сільський розвиток в Україні: проблеми становлення / О. Бородіна, І. Прокопа //
Економіка України. – 2009. – № 5. – C. 59-67.
2.
Про Комплексну
програму утвердження України як транзитної держави у 2002-2010 роках: Закон України
від 22.03.2002 № 3022-III //
Офіційний вісник України. –
2002 №10. Ст. 442. – Режим доступу: http://zakon4.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/3022-14
3.
Проблеми розвитку транскордонного
співробітництва України в умовах розширеного ЄС : Монографія / За ред. д.е.н.,
проф. Н. Мікули, к.е.н., доц. В. Борщевського, к.е.н. Т. Васильціва. – Львів:
Ліга Прес, 2009. - 436 с.