Integration Processes as a Factor of Modern Economic Policy: the Experience of the Baltic Countries

Abstract

The article analyses the peculiarities of the integration processes of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia into the European Union, as well as the possibility of using their experience in the European integration processes of Ukraine, which are particularly relevant today in the context of the military aggression of the Russian Federation. The impact of the European Union's eastward enlargement after the collapse of the Soviet Union on the economic and migration policies of the Baltic states is studied, and the capacity of economic institutions to overcome the consequences of financial and economic crises is assessed. The article highlights the challenges of statehood in the process of post-communist transformation of the Baltic states in the early twentieth century, and examines current trends and prospects of economic cooperation between Ukraine and the European Union using modern methods of assessment. The dynamic European integration path of Ukraine has actualised the search for an optimal "non-classical" model of accession to the European Union within a reasonable time frame. It is shown that the model of phased accession is the most holistically coherent and logically structured concept that can ensure predictable progress on the path to EU membership. It has been proven on the example of the Baltic States that membership in the European Union stimulates modernization and economic development, which, in turn, leads to an improvement in the standard of living of society. The twenty-year membership of the Baltic States in the European Union is evidence of successful transformation processes, which in turn will allow Ukraine to take into account current economic challenges in the context of developing its economic policy in the context of Russian military aggression.