EUKRAINA, a EU-sponsored campaign to support Ukraine’s EU integration, has analyzed the benefits that the Ukrainian IT sector may expect from its EU membership.
Ukraine signed, in 2014, an Association Agreement with the EU, and received the status of candidate for EU membership in 2022.
“This process should create a powerful synergy effect for both sides in the field of information technology development. Ukraine’s European integration will increase the competitiveness of the EU in the digital sphere while providing the Ukrainian IT market with additional incentives for development,” EUKRAINA posted on Forbes Ukraine.
These benefits include the exemption from customs duties and taxes on certain goods and services; the elimination of trade barriers, tax problems and regulatory obstacles; larger opportunities to receive grants and subsidies from the EU; access to European tenders. The protection of the IP rights of Ukrainian IT companies will be facilitated, as well as investments in the industry.
Thus, Ukraine could be “transformed into one of the main centers of development and provision of IT services in Europe, thanks to high qualifications and affordable prices. This will lead to the creation of new jobs and the growth of Ukraine’s economy,” according to Oleksandr Bornyakov, deputy minister of Digital Transformation in charge of IT development.
Ukraine’s accession to the EU will also facilitate the development of data centers, and attract to Ukraine global digital content leaders like Google, Meta, Netflix, etc., he believes.
At the macro-economic level, according to a government-sponsored study cited by EUKRAINA, the integration of Ukraine into the single digital market of the EU can stimulate the growth of Ukraine’s GDP (up to +12%) and its trade with Europe.
“A 1% increase in digitalization leads to an increase in Ukraine’s GDP by 0.42%. Therefore, Ukraine’s gradual approach to the level of digitalization of the EU can lead to additional growth of Ukraine’s GDP by 2.4–12.1% (up to $15.8 billion),” says Valeriya Ionan, deputy minister of Digital Transformation in charge of the European integration.
Read the full article on Forbes Ukraine
