The Association Agreement is a pioneering document: it is the first agreement based on political association between the EU and any of the Eastern Partnership countries and is unprecedented in its breadth (number of areas covered) and depth (detail of commitments and timelines).

The key parts focus on support to core reforms, economic recovery and growth, and governance and sector cooperation in areas such as energy, transport and environment protection, industrial cooperation, social development and protection, equal rights, consumer protection, education, youth, and cultural cooperation.

The Agreement also puts a strong emphasis on values and principles: democracy and the rule of law, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, good governance, a market economy and sustainable development.

There will be enhanced cooperation in foreign and security policy and energy.

The aims of this association are:

• to promote gradual rapprochement between the Parties based on common values and close and privileged links, and increasing Ukraine's association with EU policies and participation in programmes and agencies;
• to provide an appropriate framework for enhanced political dialogue in all areas of mutual interest;
• to promote, preserve and strengthen peace and stability in the regional and international dimensions in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter, and of the Helsinki Final Act of 1975 of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe and the objectives of the Charter of Paris for a New Europe of 1990;
• to establish conditions for enhanced economic and trade relations leading towards Ukraine's gradual integration in the EU Internal Market, including by setting up a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area as stipulated in Title IV (Trade and Trade-related Matters) of this Agreement, and to support Ukrainian efforts to complete the transition into a functioning market economy by means of, inter alia, the progressive approximation of its legislation to that of the Union;
• to enhance cooperation in the field of Justice, Freedom and Security with the aim of reinforcing the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms;
• to establish conditions for increasingly close cooperation in other areas of mutual interest (Association, 2014). 

In the table 1 the content of Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union is presented. 

Table 1 Content of Association Agreement

CHAPTER	MAIN SECTIONS
Title I General principles
Title II Political dialogue and reform, political association, cooperation and convergence in the field of foreign and security policy	Aims of political dialogue  Fora for the conduct of political dialogue  Dialogue and cooperation on domestic reform  Foreign and security policy  International Criminal Court  Regional stability  Conflict prevention, crisis management and military-technological cooperation  Non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction  Disarmament, arms controls, arms export control and the fight against illicit trafficking of arms  Combating terrorism
Title III Justice, freedom and security	The rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms  Protection of personal data  Protection of personal data  Treatment of workers  Mobility of workers  Movement of persons  Money laundering and terrorism financing  Cooperation in the fight against illicit drugs, and on precursors and psychotropic substances  Fight against crime and corruption  Cooperation in fighting terrorism  Legal cooperation
Title IV Trade and trade-related matters	National treatment and market access for goods:  Trade remedies:  Technical barriers to trade  Sanitary and phytosanitary measures  Customs and trade facilitation Establishment, trade in services and electronic commerce  Current payments and movement of capital  Public procurement  Intellectual property  Competition  Trade-Related energy  Transparency  Trade and sustainable development  Dispute settlement  Mediation mechanism
Title VI Economic and sector cooperation	Energy cooperation, including nuclear issues  Macro-Economic cooperation  Management of public finances: budget policy, internal control and external audit.  Taxation  Statistics  Environment  Transport  Space  Cooperation in science and technology  Industrial and enterprise policy  Mining and metals  Financial services  Company law, corporate governance, accounting and auditing  Information society  Audio-Visual policy  Tourism  Agriculture and rural development  Fisheries and maritime policies  Danube river  Consumer protection  Cooperation on employment, social policy and equal opportunities  Public health  Education, training, and youth  Culture  Cooperation in the field of sport and physical activity  Civil society cooperation  Cross-Border and regional cooperation  Participation in European union agencies and programmes
Title VII Financial cooperation, with anti-fraud provisions
Title VIII Institutional, general and final provisions	Access to courts and administrative organs  Measures related to essential security interests  Gradual approximation  Monitoring and etc.

Compiled by authors on the basis of (Association, 2014)

It includes a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area – this will go further than classic free trade areas, as it will both open up markets but also address competitiveness issues and the steps needed to meet EU standards and trade on EU markets.

The Agreement will also highlight Justice, Freedom & Security issues which also include provisions on mobility.

European integration for Ukraine is a possibility of economy modernization, opportunity to overcome technological backwardness, source of foreign investment and advanced technologies. Also according to Shevchenko (2009) European integration is seen by Ukrainians as source of creating new jobs, increased competitiveness of domestic producers, access to world markets, especially the EU market. 

In the political aspects European integration determines modernization of legal system in Ukraine and promotes democratization of political and institutional systems. Cooperation with the EU could contribute to bringing social conditions in Ukraine to the highest European standards through raising living standards and welfare.

In the cultural and civilizational aspect according to Osadcha (2011) European integration is a way to enhance exchanges between Ukrainian and Western European humanistic cultures. Also EU integration could help to the simultaneous formation of Ukraine as an integrated part of global society and the national state. Finally, EU membership guarantees the strengthening of Ukraine's national security; protect it from aggression and territorial claims.

However, EU brings not only pure benefits for the member states; there are also some dangers especially for the economically and socially weak countries. This issue concerning negative sides of EU integration we will discuss further.

The interest of the EU in Ukraine. From the EU perspective, Ukraine is considered to be a country of high interest for the foreign capital investment to deepen economic cooperation and considering the benefits of geographical location, rich natural resources, and properly educated personnel Ukraine could add a lot to EU as well. Similarly, there are a number of problems and cautions given that the EU is now not in a hurry to carry out rapid European integration processes.

Closest strategic partner of Ukraine which joined the EU is Poland. We use Poland experience to estimate the positive sides and drawbacks of possible Ukrainian EU integration processes. Relationships between Ukraine and Poland were considered not very easy for a long period. However, for the last decades the situation has changed, and two countries made significant achievements in economic, social, and cultural spheres. Given the similarity of economic systems structures the evaluation of Poland experience and extrapolation it to Ukraine could add a lot to see more clearly the Ukraine-EU integration situation.

Estimating the experience of Poland in EU,agriculture is sectorthat maybe underthe biggest pressure and concern for domestic country during the EU integration processes. Similar situationat one timealsowas observedin Polandand farmersinthe first years ofaccessionto the EUhave expressedconsiderableconcern about thedevelopmentof agriculture.For example, three years before Poland's EU accession, almost half of Polish farmers were skeptical about the consequences of Poland's EU accession. Furthermore, according to 5 Years of Poland’s Membership (2009) in the perception of half of the respondents, at the beginning Polish agriculture was estimated to gain less profit due to EU enlargement than the EU 15 group member states (only 13% were of the opposite opinion).

However, three years after Polish accession to the European Union, opinion polls showed greatly differing results. Around three quarters of agricultural respondents believe in the positive effect and were satisfied with Polish EU membership. That is only 20% of farmers declared their companies were suffering losses due to the Poland EU accession. 

Nowadays, agriculture considered to be one of those sectors that profited most from the Polish EU integration. Moreover, according to the public opinion, agriculture is the sector which gained positive results in a fastest way.Since EU accession, export dynamics have tripled in the food and agriculture product sector. The following products experienced the strongest export dynamics in value terms: liquid milk and cream (500%), wheat (400%), beef (200%), poultry (60%) and dairy products in general (60%). The strongest comparative advantages of Polish agriculture were recorded in the food-processing sector. Such quick growth was based primarily on low product prices in comparison to EU market prices and especially due to the large agricultural territories and relatively cheap labor force. The positive experience of Polish agriculture is that sector turned out to be competitive in many domains. Nevertheless, agriculture is still lagging behind other sectors in Poland and the problem is in form of an unfavorable agrarian structure and a limited or improperly addressed capital investment to cover the social costs of rural transition.

However, the future of Polish agricultural sphere is expected to depend more on quality, along with the efficient promotion of specific brands. Currently, over 70% of Polish export is directed to the European Union, mainly to Germany. 

Polish economy, due to its size, have been noticed already by EU member states even on its first year of accession. However, Poles initially did not observe any positive changes on the domestic job market, they became visible starting mainly in the third year of the accession. Presently, four years after the accession, almost two-thirds of respondents believe that the membership has helped reduce unemployment in Poland. 

The opinions of Polish about the impact of the integration on private businesses have not changed. Almost two-thirds of the respondents believe that they have benefited from the integration. 

According to the Summary of 4 years Poland Membership (2008) the public opinion of Polish shows that accession has had a positive effect on the position of Poland on the international scene and EU space as well. About three quarters of the respondents (72%) believe that the position of Poland in Europe has improved due to its membership in EU. There are a gradually growing number of the respondents who describe Poland as a country with an average influence in the European Union, not a minor as it used to be before accession. At the same time, the number of those who believe that Poland is a country of little importance in the EU is decreasing.

Today Poland presents a strong and continued support for further widening to the East particular concerning the Ukraine and Moldavia (without exclusion of Belarus in the future).

The successful implementation of EU integration process is possible only due to regional integration and sectoral cooperation between domestic country and EU. Given the importance for the EU trend expressed in the slogan "From EU countries to the EU Regions", this trend is of particular importance.

Regional disparity is one of the major challenges for cohesion policy in Poland, but it is strongly linked with agriculture. Poland’s regions differ with regard to their natural environment, climate, land and economic development, which influence the standard of living of their inhabitants. Consequently, some regions, mostly in the west of the country, are well developed, whereas some regions in the northeast and southwest of Poland still face ongoing economic and social problems. In many of these regions, agriculture is still one of the main professional activities.

Similar situation today is observed in Ukraine. Economic reforms in Ukraine were performed without major consideration of the regional factor. Statistic data shows significant regional economic disparities in Ukraine during 1990s. Thus, in 1998 regional per capita income was 888 UAH in Vinnytsa region, 886 UAH in Volyn region and 1691 UAH in Donetsk region or 1951 UAH in Dnipropetrovsk regions. That is on average the difference between poor and rich regions within one country was about two times. Considering the ecological indicators such as per capita emissions, rich regions were more than 20 times “dirtier” than poor ones. Little has been changed even during next 10 years of Independence. Major regional differences in terms of basic social living standards may cause serious economic, social and ecological problems. Therefore, development and transformation of national economy should consider not only structural reforms and increase in per capita GDP, but special attention has to be paid to equilibration (leveling) of the regional development which is also related to Ukraine EU tendencies.

Poland is considered to be a strongest advocate of effective relations between Ukraine and EU. The first European aspirations of Ukraine were substantially supported by Poland. In particular Polish Foreign Minister Adam Rotfeld on March 21^st, 2005, stated that Poland under any circumstances will support the European integration aspirations of Ukraine. Also, it was stated that: "At this stage we concentrate on the concrete steps of cooperation instead of empty talk about pan-European cooperation". Three days later survey in the six largest EU countries has shown EU citizens commitment to the adoption of Ukraine in the future as a full member.

Poland is interested in developing their interests to the east and increasing its influence in relations with Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, and Central Asia.A majority of the Poles respondents believe that the position of Poland with respect to the future NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia is consistent with the best interest of Poland.To achieve these goals Warsaw actively uses the possibilities and instruments of cooperation, which gives the European Union. 

Also, it is clearly seen for today that Poland seeks to play a leading role in shaping and implementing EU policy on the eastern direction. 

Ukrainian and Polish interests are really coinciding in many directions. That is Ukraine see Poland as a valuable partner in relationships with European Union, due to the interrelations of interests, experience of Poland to promote important issues in EU and its influence on European structures. 

Ukrainian-Polish constructive relationship can promote mutual cooperation in the political, trade, economic, investment, energy and interregional areas.

Characteristic features of the current state of Ukrainian-Polish interstate relations are:

• Intensification of the dialogue at the highest level, aimed at filling the existing strategic partnership with real programs;
• Active works at creation a permanent institutional mechanisms network of bilateral cooperation;
• Developing new and improving existing forms of cooperation.

Thus, the Ukrainian-Polish strategic partnerships do exist today, but still has little practical content. During the visit of Ukrainian President to Poland in 2011, both parties have demonstrated an understanding of strategic partnership objectives but found no clear vision for using the full potential of bilateral relations. Therefore, updating the strategy of relations between Ukraine and Poland still remains a very important issue. In this situation the organization of Euro 2012 is an important step to stimulate bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and Poland.

European integration process is not pure benefits for both EU and domestic country. There are also some negative sides and opportunities that also have to considered. It is of particular interest to discuss EU-Ukraine cooperation policies and its results on political, economic and social spheres. One of the common methods of analysis of positive and negative aspects of integration processes is the methodology of SWOT-analysis. Matrix SWOT-analysis of Ukraine's accession to the EU is shown on at table 2.

 

Table 2. SWOT – analysis of Ukrainian integration to EU*

S (strong) features  1.Economicbenefits: −       Modernization of the economy −        Additionalinvestment inUkrainian economy; −        Subsidiesto degradingagriculture; −        A positivetrade balance; −        Currency and macroeconomic stability 2.Socialbenefits: −        Mutual cultural development  −        Effective protection of human rights in the EU institutions; −        Openingborders for free movement ofpeople; −        Ensuring high living standards.

O (opportunities) 1. Economic Prospects: −        Technological development and cooperation −        Decreasing the shadow economy sector −         Ensuring the development of SMEs; −        Introduction of EU standards in production. −        Availability of EU market for domestic products distribution 2. Social Perspectives: −         The middle-class development; −        Education reform, health care, social security −        Establishing a stable political system

W (Weakness) 1. Political drawbacks: −        Partial loss of sovereignty; −       Uncertainty of EU development strategy; −       Deterioration of relations with CIS countries. 2 Economic disadvantages: −        Loss of competitiveness of certain industries; −        The complexity of the transition to European prices; −        Quotas for certain goods. 3 Social disadvantages: −       Complications of the visa regime with its Eastern neighbors.

T (threats) 1 Politicalthreat: −         Risk ofinvolvementof Ukraine in the conflict of civilizationsbetween the West andMuslim world. 2 EconomicThreat: −         Possiblemove to Ukraine of hazardous industries; −         UseUkraine as araw appendix; −         The use of Ukrainianas cheap labor. 3 Socialthreats: −        Deepeningdemographicdecline; −         Illegalmigration andoutflow of personnel.

* table is mostly based on work Osadcha (2011)

 

Support for Ukrainian membership in EU was changing due to the changes in Ukrainian policy and its visibility on world area. For example, at the beginning of 2005 after the “Orange revolution” the support of Ukrainian-EU aspirations increased in all member states, however to different pattern. Thus, some old EU Member States were less than half supporting Ukraine e.g. in Denmark the respective figures are 41% for and 48% against, in Belgium 44% for and 52% against or in France 38% for and 48% against. The same situation was observed in Check republic 46% of respondents supported the membership of Ukraine and 45% opposed it, in one-year term only 40% wanted Ukraine to join the EU while 49% opposed it. 

This trend is in sharp contrast to the public attitudes in most other new Member States. The most vigorous supporters of Ukrainian EU integration processes are Poland 65% in favor, 19% against, Lithuania with 67% in favor, 14% against and Slovenia 66% in favor, 27% against. For instance, in Poland (often viewed as the primary advocate in recognizing Ukraine as a future EU candidate), the support decreased by 11% between spring and autumn 2005 (while in case of the Czech Republic it fell “only” 6%). The failing support for the membership of Ukraine might probably be explained by a possible mistrust towards future EU enlargement following the French and Dutch “no” to the Constitutional Treaty or difficult negotiations over the EU budget. 

According to Bertelsmann Stiftung Opinion poll “One in three Europeans believes Ukraine will be among the new members”. When asked about the prospects for individual countries, only 37% think that Turkey will become a full member and 35% believe that Ukraine will achieve full member status. Only one in three Europeans, however, predict that Turkey or Ukraine will be among the new members. The majority of respondents believed that both countries would not join the Union by 2020. Only a handful of the respondents from the Central and Eastern Europe could envisage Turkey or/and Ukraine as EU members in fifteen years’ time.

According to an opinion poll carried out in July 2000 by the Ukrainian Center for Economic and Political Studies (UCEPS) to survey perceptions about EU enlargement process the national decision-making elite was the strongest supporter of the European integration idea (48%). The advocates of this course were more numerous than advocates of integration with Russia, the CIS or the USA taken together (39%). However, the Ukrainian population seemed to be more supportive of the idea of integration with the CIS and, primarily, Russia (57% support), while only 29% saw relations with the EU as the top priority (Inna Pilsudska, 2011)

It is not just that Ukrainian GDP per capita is only a quarter of Slovakia's and less than a fifth of Hungary's. It is clearly seen that new EU countries like Romania and Bulgaria are also doing rather modestly in terms of their economic development. The problem with Ukraine is that it has been too slow in transforming its institutions, economy and society to be a credible applicant. 

Much of the attention is still placed to the misunderstanding in democracy priorities in Ukraine and weak political will of national elite. On the other hand, EU is still paying little attention to change the situation in terms of institutional and political support of positive changes in Ukraine. For example, Bulgaria and Romania being at the road of integration processes were supported and EU facilitated the development of institutions that would allow those countries to be fully compatible with EU institutions and practices. 

However, so far, the EU has not shown much enthusiasm for Ukraine's integration initiative, explicitly indicating that Ukraine should meet its obligations under the PCA first. Direct contacts between Ukrainian ministries and other executive bodies of the European Commission remain scarce. All meetings of the Ukraine-EU Cooperation Council up to the 2011 mostly produce only declarations of intent to continue discussion. Also, macroeconomic and competitiveness indicators are of great importance. According to the gross competitiveness index (GCI) Ukraine is still lags behind average planet indicators (82 position out of 133 in 2009-2010 and 89 position in 2010-2011) and to be suitable for EU it should be at least first 30%.  

Despite the large competitiveness differences between EU and Ukraine the common international trade (in terms of import-export operations) is rather big. Ukrainian main trading partner except the CIS states is EU, and its share in Ukraine's total trade is 22.5% (15.4 % of imports, 14.8 % of exports). While the Ukraine's share in EU trade is negligible and in 1995 accounted for 0.4% of EU exports and 0.3% of imports. By 1999 the former had declined to 0.3% per cent, with the share of imports remaining unchanged at 0.3%. 

It should be also named that one of the biggest Ukrainian drawbacks in EU integration policies are the development of institutions and macroeconomic stability. It clearly seen in 2011 that democratic institutions and human rights freedoms are valued more in EU-Ukrainian integration processes than economic achievements and mutual cooperation history. Below we present results of competitiveness report of Ukrainian ranking against other world countries. 

Table 3. Competitiveness Report 2010–2011 Ukraine

Meaning of subindex	2010-2011	2011-2012	Change during the period
Basic requirements	102	98	+4
1st pillar: Institutions	134	131	+3
2nd pillar: Infrastructure	68	71	-3
3rd pillar: Macroeconomic environment	132	112	+20
4th pillar: Health and primary education	66	74	-8
Efficiency enhancers	72	74	-2
5th pillar: Higher education and training	46	51	-5
6th pillar: Goods market efficiency	129	129	0
7th pillar: Labor market efficiency	54	61	-7
8th pillar: Financial market development	119	116	+3
9th pillar: Technological readiness	83	82	+1
10th pillar: Market size	38	38	0
Innovation and sophistication factors	88	93	-5
11th pillar: Business sophistication	100	103	-3
12th pillar: Innovation	63	74	-11

Source: The Global Competitiveness Report 2010–2012. – Link: http://www.weforum.org/

Summing up theseventeenrounds of negotiations, we can speak ofakeyprogress towardsan Association Agreement:

• Approvedthe agreement asthe nameof the futureAssociation Agreement;
• Confirmed thewillingness ofthe partiesto laya newfoundation forfurther development of relationson the principles ofpolitical association andeconomic integration;
• Starta dialoguein order to introducevisa-freeshort-termtravel of citizensof Ukraine to theEU member states;
• At the expertlevel it isagreedtext of allsections, except for the sectionof the FTA;

As for internal reforms, Ukraine needs to implement a number of urgent fundamental systemic transformations, based on Ukrainian national idea, namely:

1) Economic sphere:

• Implement a strategy of advanced development that will ensure an annual GDP growth in Ukraine at a level of 6-7% (in 1.5-2 times higher than in the whole EU), in is necessary conditions to overcome economic gap in macroeconomic indicators between Ukraine and EU member states;
• Master the innovative model of structural adjustment and growth to be compatible with other EU states;
• Create an optimal and self-sufficient in terms of national interests, the structure of Ukraine's economy, able to operate stably in the case of regressive phenomena in the development of the EU;
• Save the high-tech industries prospects of military-industrial complex, especially the space industry;

2) Social sphere:

• Provide conditions to decrease poverty in Ukraine, improve living standards and strengthening the middle class;
• To work out political stability and democratization society;
• To form a reliable national security legal code in the field of migration and citizenship of Ukraine;
• In the context of education and science it is necessary to improve implementation of Bologna educational system, avoiding the privatization of the educational process and stimulate national research institutions to participate in international scientific programs; 
• Intensify efforts in addressing the demographic problems;
• Create and implement an effective program of sound family.

3) In the political sphere:

• Actively participate in shaping the strategy further development of the EU, as an equal partner for the protection of national and European interests;
• Explore the possibility of coordinated customs policy with Russia, as a condition for forming a free trade zone between the two countries.

The basisof political associationshould be placed on the convergence ofUkraine with EU positionson all issuesof international peaceand security,ensuringthe direct participationof Ukraine in thepolicies,EU agencies and programs, communityactionto ensurenational security interestsof the Ukrainian state. 

At the core ofeconomic integrationshould be comprehensivefree trade area (FTA) Ukraine -EU based onthe four freedoms,aimed atthe gradual integrationof Ukraine into theEU market. That processes have been successfully promoted in 2011. 

A number of decrees and resolutions were adopted to facilitate approximation of Ukrainian legislation to the EU. However, prospects for making practical steps have been largely affected by the lack of adequate institutions capable of producing the desired change. Ukraine had failed to meet 22 provisions of the PCA and was too far, for a long time, from meeting the WTO requirements preceding the creation of a free trade area with the EU.  Yet discussions between the Ukrainian leadership and EU officials within the Ukraine-EU committee in charge of monitoring implementation of the PCA have apparently been limited to declarations that the EU supports Ukraine's striving for European integration and welcomes closer relations with Ukraine.

In our opinion, it is time to revise Ukrainian controversial achievements of the last period and find the best way to increase their competitive capacity and ability to be a full subject of international relations.