THE EUROPEAN UNION IMPACT ON THE FORMATION OF THE SYSTEM OF COMPETITION REGULATION IN UKRAINE

Abstract

Integration into the European Union has been one of the defining priorities of Ukraine's foreign policy since the first years of its sovereignty. Therefore, European integration progress in various spheres of society is quite interesting and relevant object of research and scientific substantiation. The field of competition regulation is no exception in this respect. The article examines the basic features of the EU competition regulation system. A historical-retrospective analysis of the evolution of the national system of competitive regulation of Ukraine in the context of the influence of the European integration factor is carried out. It is revealed that although its formation from the very beginning was in accordance with EU principles and norms, before the entry into force of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU (01.09.2017) there were some differences between the two systems. They, however, were corrected in the first three years of implementation of this Agreement by the Ukrainian side. In particular, the system of state aid in Ukraine was significantly reformed (a register of state aid schemes was created, they were brought into line with the criteria set by the Agreement); the thresholds for mergers of companies were increased; the system of determination of fines for the competition rules violations was reformed; competition legislation and the organizational principles of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine were improved. The latter is the main body responsible for implementation of the competition rules referred to in the Association Agreement. It is also revealed that the normative sphere of competition regulation in Ukraine is one of the most harmonized with the EU standards today, but the practical observance of the adopted European competition norms remains a topical issue for our country.

The article prepared within the Jean Monnet Chair Activity “EU Studies at Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University” of the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union» (№ 611478-EPP-1-2019-1-UA-EPPJMO-CHAIR).