PERSPECTIVES OF GERMANY INVESTMENT POLICY IN UKRAINE

Abstract

Since 2014, internal political upheavals in Kyiv, the conclusion of a major Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU, the annexation of Crimea by Russia, the start of hostilities in the east of Ukraine and Germany's participation in further peace efforts have moved Ukraine into the center of attention of the German political elite. These events made Germany's relations with Ukraine one of the central topics of Germany's international affairs and the subject of heated public debates in Germany. Direct investment and location of production in Ukraine are ambiguous topics for German business. Despite a number of favorable investment factors, such as low production and labor costs, as well as the strengthening of the integration of the Ukrainian economy into the EU internal market, bureaucracy, legal uncertainty, corruption, crime and the emigration of qualified workers are hindering the activities of foreign investors in Ukraine, in particular German ones. Moreover, the effect of the unclear situation with the national security of Ukraine as a geopolitical "gray zone" country, which deters investment, is often underestimated. Thus, the article will highlight the current state of affairs regarding German prospects and the role of Ukraine in them.