Collaboration Between Economic Regions: Ukraine-Poland and other EU states

Abstract

The relevance of the problem of interregional economic cooperation between Ukraine and the European Union (EU) lies in its importance for strengthening interconnections between regions and, in general, between different countries. Therefore, it is essential to implement new mechanisms of interregional interaction and improve the legal regulation of relationships, the economic situation of individual regions, and the tools for ensuring a stable environmental condition of the regions. This scientific article aims to systematise and analyse relevant data to understand the impact of the development of Euroregional cooperation on the interaction between Ukraine and the EU border countries. The expert analysis method was used during the research to assess the negative factors' impact on Euroregional cooperation's effectiveness. Based on data obtained from a survey of legal (8 individuals) and economic (7 individuals) scholars-experts, a correlation analysis was conducted between the factors hindering the development of cooperation and its opportunities. The assessment of factors hindering the development of Euroregional cooperation in Ukraine found that all experts rated the significance of identified negative factors highly. According to the results of the correlation analysis, economists identified insufficient financial support (0.8) as the most critical problem, while legal scholars pointed to the lack of a unified legal framework (0.99). In summary, the study confirms the positive attitude of experts towards development opportunities but indicates unjustified attention to areas such as energy efficiency (1.5) and financial support (2.4). The analysis results reveal that financial support (r=0.77) has a high degree of correlation with the problem of insufficient regional development.