INSTITUTIONAL ASPECTS OF CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION DEVELOPMENT OF THE UKRAINIAN DANUBE REGION IN THE CONTEXT OF COHESION POLICY

Abstract

Topicality. The relevance of the study lies in the need to improve the institutional support of cross-border cooperation in the Ukrainian Danube region of the Odesa region with a priority in the economic dimension. The problem is that this region lags behind in socio-economic development from the regional center and most of the neighboring territories. This weakens cohesion at all levels and leads to social tension. The peculiarities of the location of the Ukrainian Danube region open up opportunities for cross-border cooperation. However, these opportunities are underused. The current challenges of implementing the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine require the involvement of all available resources and tools. The realization of the potential of cross-border cooperation of the Ukrainian Danube region in the field of economy can be defined as a strategic task of the country's development and be the subject of scientific research aimed at development of an institutional framework, mechanisms and tools to ensure the intensification of cooperation with the regions of neighboring EU countries in the implementation of common projects in the real economy. The implementation of cross-border cooperation projects (CBC) is one of the ways to implement the cohesion policy, proclaimed in the EU as the main investment policy and defined as the main goal of the State Strategy for Regional Development in Ukraine for the period up to 2027. Aim and tasks. The purpose of the article is to identify strategic directions, measures and tools for improvement of the institutional support for the participation of communities and regions of the Ukrainian Danube region in the process of economic cooperation on the basis of local advantages, attracting local resources and prospects for adapting the domestic regulatory framework for cross-border cooperation to the requirements, principles and rules of the EU countries. The main tasks are: to identify problems and prospects for improving the institutional environment that determines the potential of the CBC for the Ukrainian Danube region; to establish current priority areas for CBC, taking into account national and European regulatory documents that determine the development strategy for CBC; to propose some measures for improvement of the institutional environment in the context of the cohesion policy and ensuring the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. To develop effective measures to improve the institutional support for the development of cross-border economic cooperation, the systemic approach, statistical analysis, method of generalization and methods of logical analysis of the institutional basis for cross-border cooperation were applied. Research results. The article explores the legal framework for cross-border cooperation in Ukraine. Such policy documents as the State Strategy for Regional Development, the State Programme for the Development of Cross-Border Cooperation, the Program for the implementation in the Odesa region of the EU Strategy for the Danube region for 2020-2022 were analyzed. Based on this analysis, it was determined that the program documents are consisted, but there is no strategy and program for the development of the Ukrainian Danube region yet. The available CBC programs for the region were studied and it was found that only the Danube transnational program is sufficiently represented in the state policy documents. An analysis of the Program for the Implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region for 2020-2022 in the Odesa region showed that most of the activities are planned for the development of the transport infrastructure of the region and the management of environmental risks. Based on the analysis of existing projects in the Ukrainian Danube region, it was revealed that their number and priorities are typical for regions with a low level of economic development. The economic component of the development of the region is the basis for the cross-border cooperation, therefore, measures and tools for enhancing the CBC should focus on raising the level of economic development of the region. The problem of the institutional capacity of the region has been studied and it has been revealed that, in comparison with the EU Member States, for which all the needed information about the current CBC programs, reports on their implementation and the necessary methodological support for their initiation is available in the database (keep.eu), Ukraine does not even have a register of cross-border cooperation projects. It has been proved that in order to assess the region's capabilities to implement CBC projects and attract investments in priority areas of industrial development, a database of up-to-date information about this region should be created based on statistical observations according to EU common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS). Conclusion. The analysis of the institutional aspects of cross-border cooperation in the Ukrainian Danube region showed the insufficient representation of the vision of the development of the region in Ukrainian policy documents, the need to improve the conditions for the economic development of the region as a basis for CBC and increase the institutional capacity of potential participants in cross-border cooperation. To stimulate cross-border cooperation in the Ukrainian Danube region, certain tasks and activities are proposed, in particular, the creation of the strategy and program for the development of cross-border cooperation of the Ukrainian Danube region, which will prioritize industrialization based on sustainable development, the development of the subjectivity of territorial communities, the creation of a database with the results of statistical observations of the state of community development and information on the state of the CBC and methodological support for this activity.