Strategic Directions of Ukraine's Integration into the Educational, Research and Innovation Areas of the EU

The purpose of the article is to determine the strategic directions for the integration of educational, research and innovation areas of Ukraine into the corresponding areas of the EU, taking into account the economic interests of Ukraine. These areas can be delimited from each other by the product they create. The product of the educational area is the reproduction of existing knowledge, of the research area is the creation of new knowledge (novation), of the innovation area – innovation. With regard to areas, three types of integration can be proposed: (1) complete; (2) partial; (3) element-wise. Complete integration of the two areas provides for the formation of a single institutional environment and the corresponding links. In this case, there is an institutional absorption of one area by another. Partial integration of areas will take place through their intersection. In this case, new elements are formed, which simultaneously have connections corresponding to the first and second areas, and the institutional environment becomes mixed. Element-wise integration occurs when elements from one area are integrated into another area. For instance, a researcher or student from country A migrates to country B for permanent residence. Based on statistical observations for 2013-2019 it can be argued that the results of the activities of the Ukrainian research area are used to a greater extent in the EU than the results of the EU research area in Ukraine. And ultimately, novations created in the Ukrainian research area are transformed into innovations in the European innovation area and returned (imported) to Ukraine in the form of final high-tech products. From the standpoint of ensuring the economic growth of Ukraine, the current path of integration processes is not optimal. The transformation of the Ukrainian educational, research and innovation areas into the subareas of the EU ensures, first of all, the economic growth (on an innovative basis) of the EU, and not of Ukraine. So, given that the European research area is only an instrument for achieving certain EU goals, then the unconditional inclusion of Ukraine to this instrument turns the Ukrainian area into its component. For the Ukrainian economy, the optimal strategic direction for integrating the educational, research and innovation areas of Ukraine and the EU is their synthesis through the creation of a single space at the intersection of the areas of Ukraine and the EU, as well as element-wise integration from the areas of the EU into the areas of Ukraine. As a result, the Roadmap for Ukraine's Integration into the European Research Area requires revision.