Analysis of the competitiveness of the EU and its member countries

With the convergence of national markets of individual countries and the revival of globalization processes, international competition is growing not only among producers of goods and services, but also among regions and countries. There are a significant number of approaches to the analysis and improvement of countries’ competitiveness. Given Ukraine’s European integration pass, we consider the EU countries to be a key benchmark for its development. The EU, as a union of democratic European countries working together for peace and prosperity, must support a high competitiveness for both the Union as a whole and its member states in the face of increasing global competition. European integration has a significant positive impact on the development and competitiveness of the EU. However, in recent decades, it has deteriorated somewhat compared to global leaders due to dynamic changes in the international environment. As shown, EU countries (primarily the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Finland) occupy high positions in international rankings (Global Competitiveness Indexes of the WEF and IMD, Legatum Prosperity Index, ERT Benchmarking Report, Business Europe Reform Barometer), and especially sustainable development (SDSN Sustainable Development Index) etc. However, in a number of key areas, many EU countries and the Union generally lag behind world leaders. Today’s open and export-oriented European economy suffers from weak demand for investment and consumer goods, slow development of innovative and digital businesses etc. Instead, the EU is a global leader in achieving the goals of sustainable development. Experts primarily recommend strengthening the EU’s single market and supporting new technologies, while all European countries should increase productivity, which requires greater investment in critical infrastructure, innovative technologies, skills development and labor market efficiency. Оn the other hand, European companies should constantly take into account the global situation and dynamics and modernize their competition policy accordingly. Ukraine’s adoption of the best European experience of raising the competitiveness, taking into account the obtained conclusions, may be the subject of further research.