CURRENT ISSUES OF COOPERATION UNDER EU INTEGRATION POLICY UKRAINE

The article is devoted to the problematic issues in the sphere of the cooperative movement and the prospects for its development in Ukraine in the context of the process of integration into the European Union. The main attention is focused on the problems of cooperation in the field of agriculture and the unification of small agricultural producers of products, as in agriculture, cooperation has the greatest prospects and can potentially allow production growth, improving the structure of the agrarian market, and solving social problems in rural areas. The problems arising in the process of concentration of agricultural production by agroholdings are noted. The analysis of recent researches in the works of leading Ukrainian and world scientists devoted to the problems of rural production cooperation is carried out. The cooperation of small commodity producers in agriculture is considered as a means of solving the problems arising in the process of concentration of production by agroholdings: specialization in grain and oilseed чonocultures, placement of large livestock complexes that negatively affect the ecological condition of the locality, neglect of the social sphere of rural areas. It is proved that the cooperation of agrarian producers promotes the ecologization of production, the fair distribution of incomes in agriculture, and the growth of the well-being of the rural population. The main problems that hamper the development of agricultural cooperation, which include the imperfect legislative base, the weak development of entrepreneurship in the countryside, and the low level of familiarization of the population with the opportunities and advantages of agricultural production cooperation, have been identified. To solve these problems, it is proposed to implement a set of measures, including, first of all, the harmonization of Ukrainian legislation with the legislation and standards of the European Union in the field of food production. The changes in the tax policy, raising the level of education among the rural population, and the extension of state programs for the development of rural areas, are also needed. The international schemes of certification and standardization of food production in cooperative associations are analyzed and the conclusion is received that introduction of such certification in Ukraine will allow to strengthen the possibilities of cooperative movement in our state.