Opportunities of European Union and other regional funding sources in relation to the Transcarpathia development

Abstract

The relevance of the topic is determined by the proximity of Transcarpathia to the eastern border and the possibility of access to funding sources from the EU, which on the one hand enables certain development of the region in the conditions of Russian aggression, and on the other hand, is complicated by the deepening of the economic, infrastructural, energy and social crises in the country. In this situation, it is necessary to attract external resources to restore the country. With this in mind, the study first presents the impact of the conceptual system of regional policy and development policy in the European Union, as well as the history of its economic and theoretical development. The article also describes the basis on which the support policy is implemented and the resources related to the socio-economic development of Transcarpathia. Measures implemented on the territory of Ukraine, especially in economic terms, have been grouped together, with the funding sources of origin being highlighted. The HUSKROUA project is the most famous among the funds of the European Union, which provided funds for development with the involvement of Ukraine and neighboring member states. Among the Hungarian development assistance programs, the best known is the Egan Ede program, but there were also economic programs to support young entrepreneurs and family entrepreneurship funded through the Gabor Bethlen Foundation. As a result, the study assessed future trends in the development of these programs. For now, it is difficult to give a forecast regarding the regional development of Ukraine and Transcarpathia as a whole. It can be assumed that before the war and the pandemic, several promising projects aimed at the socio-economic development of the region were developed. After the war ends and the pro-Ukraine policy of Western countries remains, recovery, reconstruction and pre-accession funds are expected to open, from which the region can also benefit economically. The key point will be effective allocation of the resources provided for the future.