15 years of the Baltic States membership in EU: problems, perspectives and experience for Ukraine

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21847/1728-9343.2018.6(158).155047

Keywords:

Baltic States, EU, results, membership, Ukraine, experience

Abstract

The article highlights the key provisions of the study of the results ofBaltic Statesmembership in the European Union. Analyzing the geopolitical dimension of European choice, the authors presented a brief discourse of the challenges that arose during the restoration of independence ofLatvia,LithuaniaandEstonia. The factors of the European choice of these countries, which consisted of security, economic and social dimensions, were considered.

The security factor of the European vector of politics was actualized in the desire of political elites to withdraw countries from the sphere of influence ofRussia. In the economic view, countries sought reorientation of economies to Western markets and incorporation into the architecture of trade relations of developed countries of the European Union.

It is noted that thanks to the Euro-Atlantic foreign policy vector and the strict fulfillment of the membership criteria, the Baltic States received access to preferential lending, assistance programs to candidate countries and managed to form one of the most attractive investment climate inEastern Europe.

Using key statistical indicators of the World Bank, Eurostat resource, analytical materials from leading audit company KPMG, key economic indicators are analyzed: GDP (in PPP) dynamics compared to other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, wages and retirement benefits. The consideration of economic gains from EU membership is complemented by an analysis of the structure of GDP and the study of the industry specification.

The losses from the process of European integration, which consisted of: significant reduction of industrial production, unprofitability of agriculture, emigration of the population aged 25 to 35 years, were also identified.

The attitude of residents to EU membership has been studied using the results of the annual surveys of the European service "Eurobarometer". It was found that in 2018, the positive attitude of residents ofLatvia,LithuaniaandEstoniadid not actually change compared to 2004. The charts available in the article also allow us to determine that the level of euroskepticism in the countries in question has not significantly changed compared to the first year of membership in the EU.

The authors propose algorithms for taking Ukraine into account the experience of the Baltic States on the path to full membership.94(4)+ (442)63-6

Author Biographies

Lukash Donaj, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań

PhD, Professor

Vitaliy Zavadskyi, Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Uviversity

PhD in Historical Sciences, Associate Professor 

References

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Published

2019-01-25

How to Cite

Donaj, L., & Zavadskyi, V. (2019). 15 years of the Baltic States membership in EU: problems, perspectives and experience for Ukraine. Skhid, (6(158), 46–51. https://doi.org/10.21847/1728-9343.2018.6(158).155047

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Section

World History