The thesis deepens theoretical approaches to the development of free trade areas and develops practical recommendations on effective forms of regional economic cooperation between Ukraine and the EU in order to ensure the sustainability of their relations and the realization of national interests of Ukraine.
It is determined that the form of manifestation of regional trade relations are regional trade agreements, legally formulated as a free trade area agreement or a customs union between two or more countries, which defines trade rules for all its parties. Four components of the mechanism of functioning of regional trade agreements are distinguished: international legal framework, principles of creation, subjects, their interests and goals, types of agreements.
The nature of the impact of disintegration processes on the cooperation between Ukraine and the EU is determined, the tendencies of development of economic cooperation are singled out, the threats and opportunities of functioning of the free trade area are identified.
The hypotheses about the lack of maximum efficiency in the functioning of the free trade area and the hypothesis about the contradictions of national interests of Ukraine and the EU have been confirmed, which testifies to the transition to an unstable stage of the life cycle of this regional agreement. This necessitated the search for forms and directions of development of the current Free Trade Area, which would ensure common interests in the process of cooperation, as well as its resistance to the external influence of disintegration processes.
The paper provides recommendations for the development of a free trade area between Ukraine and EU countries by strengthening sectoral links and creating a tourism cluster. The methodology for managing the development of sectoral links between Ukraine and the EU, in particular in the tourism industry, is proposed. The project of tourism cluster, which can become a catalyst for effective use of ecological, social, cultural, economic potential, includes 7 stages.
The presence of common interests at the state, regional, entrepreneurial levels, which form the strategic and tactical goals of socio-economic development, ensures the sustainability and long-term cooperation of Ukraine and the EU not only in the tourism industry, but also in the free trade area as a whole.
