Poland, which many in Ukraine perceive as Europe’s main ally, is increasingly turning into a conditional “log” on our path to the EU. Economist Alexey Kushch explains why this is so and what to do next.
“The Polish Case” and the prospects for Ukraine’s European integration.
Poland, which many of us perceive as a supporter of Ukraine’s path to EU membership, is increasingly turning into a conditional “log” lying in our way.
The “grain visa-free” for Ukraine led to a complete blocking of our exports in the markets of some Central European countries, thus saving their farmers from price decline.
Here it is necessary to understand that instead of the “grain visa-free” regime, we now have a stricter trade regime with Poland in terms of agricultural products than before the war.
In general, price reductions by Ukrainian companies have become a real scourge for our neighbors.
And it is worth noting that low prices for goods and services from Ukraine will continue until the capitalization of the Ukrainian economy approaches the parameters of the Polish economy, and this will not happen anytime soon.
Now this situation has been joined by the blockade of the Ukrainian-Polish border by Polish carriers – this is the Poles’ reaction to the implementation of “visa-free transportation” for Ukraine.
This once again emphasizes my thesis that there is no need for a raw material-producing Ukraine as part of the EU, especially an agricultural and raw material-producing Ukraine.
And if we want to be part of the European geopolitical space, we must have a political and economic development model compatible with the European model. Our “connectors” must match, otherwise integration will be impossible.
For this, it is necessary to find a place in pan-European technological value chains, and this is definitely not agricultural raw materials.
Increasing the level of complexity of the Ukrainian economy is critical.
But there are other problems too. Political system and corruption.
Our political system in its current form is not compatible with the European system, even if it is based on the basic constitutional framework.
In fact, there is no parliamentary-presidential country in the EU.
And this is just the tip of the problems.
Human trafficking, arms trafficking, drug trafficking.
We must understand that as part of the EU we will conditionally “remove” the control and inspection mechanism at Western border crossings.
There are almost no borders in Europe. In other words, our eastern border will be the eastern border of the EU and the “division” between us and the European Union will disappear.
Europeans will accept this only if the flow of arms and drugs does not cross this border and human trafficking does not go beyond the maximum permissible limits.
We will have to completely eliminate the internal mechanisms of tax optimization.
Everything is simple here: the road to the EU passes through the Customs Union with the EU and a single field of customs control and VAT assessment, including the conditions for obtaining a tax refund for VAT.
Now, “tax distortions”, VAT “distortions”, fictitious refunds, smuggling flows, etc. Can you imagine this?
Will the European customs area and the VAT calculation mechanism be combined with a “black hole” in the form of our optimization?
The answer is clear.
There are also money laundering mechanisms, a shadow economy of 50% of official parameters, cash payments, dollarization, etc. There is nothing like this anywhere in the EU.
And here it is one thing to accept small Albania, which is “similar” to us, and it is another thing to accept a country with a surface area almost the size of France and a population of 25 million.
So the conclusion is this: to start real European integration, we need to go through a path of large-scale internal transformation, lose our “developmental ulcers” and become more like European basic systems.
However, the problem is that our political elites and even a part of society naively perceive the EU membership procedure as a mechanism to achieve exactly this transformation.
This is an erroneous perception, because the procedure for adapting Ukraine to EU requirements will only be successful, starting from the readiness of the system, when only part of the external design and “factory settings” need to be changed.
If we start this process in conditions of systemic unpreparedness, this process will be harshly contaminated and imitated by our “deep system”.
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Source: Focus
Alfred Hart is an accomplished journalist known for his expert analysis and commentary on global affairs. He currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker, where he provides readers with in-depth coverage of the most pressing issues affecting the world today. With a keen insight and a deep understanding of international politics and economics, Alfred’s writing is a must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the world we live in.