Monitoring European integration progress is a challenging endeavour, as it involves more than just counting the number of laws or regulations adopted.
The research should assess the quality of normative documents, their alignment with the Association Agreement and the EU Acquis communautaire, statements from Ukrainian authorities, and the direct implementation of reforms.
In September last year, the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting, in collaboration with the Bendukidze Free Market Center and lead experts, launched the UAEUmeter project – a tool designed to provide an objective assessment of European integration processes.
UAEUmeter tracks Ukraine’s overall progress toward EU integration and specifically in six key economic sectors:
- transport
- digital transformation
- entrepreneurship and industrial policy
- social policy and employment
- free movement of goods and customs
- rule of law
Experts evaluate events in each sector on a scale of -3 to +3 (-3 indicating maximum negative impact on accession, 0 indicating neutral impact, and +3 indicating maximum positive impact). After ratings are assigned, an overall indicator for each area is calculated. Detailed information about the methodology and meanings of ratings can be found at the bottom of this article or via this link.
UAEUmeter doesn’t cover all areas. The index does not track progress in education, culture, science, research, intellectual property, financial services, etc.
The Acquis Communautaire comprises 35 chapters, all crucial for Ukraine’s EU accession.
Therefore, over time, UAEUmeter will expand to include more areas, providing a more comprehensive assessment of Ukraine’s progress.
The fastest pace of changes is at the end of the year
From September 2023 to March 2024 (April data pending), the overall UAEUmeter indicator peaked at the end of the year: in November and December (+1.31 and +1.30 respectively). During this period, legislative and other changes occurred across most areas, receiving high ratings from experts.
This surge in activity likely stemmed from year-end deadlines for state programmes and strategies, prompting politicians and officials to intensify their efforts. Social policy and employment were the only areas with minimal progress during these two months. Below, we’ll take a closer look at the challenges these areas face.
Flagships of European Integration Changes
Digital transformation leads the way in progress toward the EU.
From September 2023 to March 2024, its ratings remained above +1, peaking at +2 in November.
This success is attributed to the creation of effective digital tools for document management, entrepreneurship, declarations, electronic registers, and the harmonization of national cybersecurity legislation with European standards.
These achievements were preceded by adopting relevant regulations, drafting laws defined by strategic documents, and implementing many of these between September and March.
Ukraine is also showing good results in free movement of goods and customs, particularly in reforming customs according to the EU Acquis. Ukraine has joined the EU customs information system and now uses the New Computerized Transit System (NCTS).
Several important legal acts were adopted between September 2023 and March 2024:
- Amendments to the Tax Code aligning certain norms with the Law of Ukraine “On the Customs Tariff of Ukraine” and clarifying provisions.
- Amendments to the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes criminalizing goods smuggling.
- National Revenue Strategy until 2030.
The overall expert assessment for this area hovered around +1 and reached a maximum of +1.35 in March.
Like digital transformation, the transport sector also saw significant progress by the end of 2023 (+1.69).
Notably, the Connecting Europe Facility agreement, encompassing transport, energy, digital transformation, and budget, was ratified in November.
March also witnessed intense movement in this sector (+1.52) with the first meeting between Ukraine and the European Commission on transport in five years. The government announced recovery priorities, including export logistics; Slovakia and Ukraine continued cooperation on rail transport, border crossing modernization, and energy security.
However, no European integration laws were adopted between September and March, except for the aforementioned agreement ratification.
No significant progress yet
European integration in entrepreneurship and industrial policy has seen limited progress, primarily building on pre-war advancements in service digitalization and deregulation. However, recent movement in this area has been slow.
From September to March, two laws were adopted:
- on improving pricing regulations in defence procurement during martial law, and
- on simplifying land-use changes for investments for quick reconstruction of Ukraine.
While important for entrepreneurship and industrial policy, these laws don’t directly address European integration. Meanwhile, efforts like Diia.Signature for legal entities and the E-Entrepreneur service aimed at digitization continued through by-laws.
November marked the most productive month with a progress rating of 1.72. However, other months from September 2023 to March 2024 showed lower ratings, mostly below one. Experts were unimpressed by the launch of the Made in Ukraine economic platform (0.44 points) and the creation of the Council for Entrepreneurship in Wartime (-0.38 points). The National Revenue Strategy until 2030 received an even worse assessment (-1.27 points) for its impact on European integration. These assessments highlight a lack of communication between the government’s agenda and European integration, as well as a lack of communication with businesses. Conversely, the publication of the long-awaited by Ukrainian stakeholders and international partners draft Strategy for the Recovery of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises until 2027 was viewed positively.
In the rule of law, Ukraine successfully implemented two reforms in 2022-2023, concerning judicial governance bodies and the Constitutional Court, which were on the list of conditions of the European Commission for the start of accession negotiations.
The European Commission’s November report on Ukraine praised the progress in the rule of law, reflected in a positive rating of +1.71 by UAEUmeter experts. However, further implementation of EC recommendations, such as the renewal of the Supreme Court and reforms in legal education and the bar, has been slow. Ratification of the Agreement on Ukraine’s participation in the EU Justice Programme is expected, but not anticipated to be problematic.
To accelerate progress, international partners should link financial assistance to Ukraine with crucial rule-of-law reforms. The adoption of the law creating a specialized higher administrative court defined by the International Monetary Fund as a structural beacon for 2024 demonstrates the effectiveness of this approach.
Social policy and employment are in the early stages of aligning with EU legislation. Since September 2023, the assessment of progress in this area has mostly been less than one. Only in October did experts assess the results of changes at 1.36. The already adopted changes concerned the regulation of policy in the field of social services, in particular care. The expert assessment of the Council of Europe and its bodies regarding the rights of national minorities (communities) in certain areas is also taken into account.
Changes outlined in the Ukraine Plan are currently on the agenda, with experts believing they will align legislation closer to EU rules. Additionally, experts have positively assessed plans for implementing the new Labour Code. While they acknowledge that changes in social policy and employment have been moving in the right direction over the past six months, they also note the slow pace of these changes.
Finally, here is a brief overview of the project’s methodology: Each month, the project team compiles a database of events for expert evaluation, including:
- Actual changes in legislation: Laws and regulations that have been adopted.
- Planned changes in legislation: Legislative acts scheduled for consideration, including draft laws submitted to the Verkhovna Rada and regulations open for public discussion.
- Agenda: Official statements of intent, adopted strategies, roadmaps, etc. This provides insight into potential directions and creates an institutional framework for government officials’ actions.
- Implementation status: expert assessment of whether a particular area is moving in the right or wrong direction of European integration.
Learn more about the methodology here.