=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-3296/paper1
|storemode=property
|title=EU Digital Market: the Future of Eastern Partnership
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3296/paper1.pdf
|volume=Vol-3296
|authors=Oleh Tsebenko,Olha Ivasechko,Yaryna Turchyn,Roman Holoshchuk
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/scia2/TsebenkoITH22
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==EU Digital Market: the Future of Eastern Partnership==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3296/paper1.pdf
EU Digital Market: the Future of Eastern Partnership
Oleh Tsebenko, Olha Ivasechko, Yaryna Turchyn and Roman Holoshchuk
Lviv Polytechnic National University, 12, Stepan Bandera str., Lviv, 79013, Ukraine
Abstract
The article analyzes the peculiarities of cooperation in the field of digitization within the
framework of the EU Eastern Partnership Initiative. The key challenges and threats to the
Eastern Partnership countries on the way to the digital market have been identified. The main
instruments of cooperation in the field of digitalization within the framework of the Eastern
Partnership have been highlighted. The author’s typology based on the criterion of the level of
digitization and approximation to EU standards in the field of digital technologies of the
Eastern Partnership countries has been proposed. The schemes of external and internal factors
affecting the future digitalization of the Eastern Partnership countries have been presented. The
level of digitalization of the Eastern Partnership countries has been analyzed according to
various global indices of digital transformations. Recommendations for improving cooperation
between the EU and Eastern Partnership countries in the digital sphere have been presented. A
forecast of the prospects of the digital market development of the Eastern Partnership countries
has been made.
Keywords 1
EU digital market, Eastern partnership, digitalization, digital and informed society
1. Introduction
Today, digital technologies are becoming an increasingly part of social life and are shaping Europe’s
digital future in particular. This trend has intensified in connection with globalization processes,
scientific and technological progress of mankind and the COVID-19 crisis. Digitization contributes to
the reducing bureaucracy, quick access of people to services, expansion of services for the population,
reduces the negative impact of the corona crisis in various areas, including the economy, politics, health
care, business, ecology, etc. Innovative transformations, the development of cloud technologies, access
to digital goods and services, and the elimination of barriers to cross-border electronic commerce create
an environment for the economic and social growth of states, as well as for the development of digital
networks and services. Digitalization opens up new opportunities for society, contributes to the
development of citizens’ well-being, and then becomes one of the main directions of state policy in
modern conditions. In the era of digital transformations, the European Commission aims to modernize
the Internal Market of the European Union and activate the digitalization process in the EU member
states and beyond in order to ensure the proper functioning of the Single Digital Market and close
cooperation in this field with neighboring countries. Digital transformations contribute to the creation
of new development opportunities for EU member states and their partners. The key task of the EU
Agenda is to achieve technological autonomy. The EU's approach to digital transformation should
ensure the expansion of opportunities for member states and neighboring countries and their citizens,
the realization of potential benefits due to the integration of digital services, as well as the solution of
global challenges facing the EU and partner countries on the way of digital transformation.
SCIA-2022: 1st International Workshop on Social Communication and Information Activity in Digital Humanities, October 20, 2022, Lviv,
Ukraine
EMAIL: oleh.o.tsebenko@lpnu.ua (O. Tsebenko); olha.y.ivasechko@lpnu.ua (О. Ivasechko); yaryna.b.turchyn@lpnu.ua (Y. Turchyn);
roman.o.holoshchuk@lpnu.ua (R. Holoshchuk).
ORCID: 0000-0002-0024-0405 (O. Tsebenko); 0000-0003-2141-3309 (О. Ivasechko); 0000-0002-9114-1911 (Y. Turchyn); 0000-0002-1811-
3025 (R. Holoshchuk).
©️ 2022 Copyright for this paper by its authors.
Use permitted under Creative Commons License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
CEUR Workshop Proceedings (CEUR-WS.org)
European Neighborhood Policy is one of the priority areas of foreign policy. One of its priority
directions is Eastern policy, which is implemented through such an instrument as the EU Eastern
Partnership Initiative. The key goal of EU cooperation with Eastern Partnership countries are the
development of democracy, good governance, economic well-being and sustainable society in the target
countries. These goals cannot be effectively achieved without the implementation of a digital policy in
the countries of the Eastern Partnership. One of the priorities of the EU’s Eastern Neighborhood Policy
is the digitization and informatization of neighboring countries. To date, the countries of the Eastern
Partnership have faced significant threats from the COVID-19 pandemic. There are other challenges
and threats to the countries of the region, such as cyber security, personal data protection and electronic
privacy, geo-blocking, and insufficient digital competence of citizens. The use of digital technologies,
intensification of digital transformations, adaptation of states to rapid changes and new realities of the
digital era by EU standards will help to resist all these threats. That is why it is necessary to analyze in
more detail the need to integrate EU digital technologies in the countries of the Eastern Partnership, as
well as to identify the need to promote digitalization in the target countries of the Initiative in
accordance with European norms and standards.
Related Works. In order to a thorough analysis of the research subject, a number of sources were
analyzed, which became the basis for writing the article. The source of information was the works of
leading scientists and specialists, which make it possible to deepen and systematize theoretical
knowledge of the researched issues, legislative acts and other regulatory documents, methodological
developments of EU analytical centers, websites of the European Commission and the Eastern
Partnership, global digitalization indices data and the Eastern Partnership Index.
The first group of sources for scientific research were the works of domestic and foreign scientists.
The problem of the characteristics of the EU digital market transformation is considered in the works
of Mikuláš Dzurinda [6], Meelis Kitsing [2], Marko Buti [14], István P. Székely [14]. The authors
I. Yehorov [1], V. Hryha [1] successfully conducted a comparative analysis of the presence of
digitalization indicators in Ukraine and other countries of the EU’s Eastern Partnership. The main
aspects of digitalization in the field of e-government in the Eastern Partnership countries were
highlighted in the work of Oleh Tsebenko [8], Nataliia Lukach [8], Yaryna Zavada [8] and Olha
Stadnichenko [8].
The study “Adaptation to the era of digital trade”, that deserves special attention, was conducted by
a group of WTO researchers under the editorship of M. Smiths. The study contains a comprehensive
presentation of information about the threats of the digital era, as well as approaches to solving these
challenges [28].
G. Gentilini’s study “The Evolution of the Digital Single Market” is also important, as the author
highlighted the key stages of the digital transformation that took place in the European Union, taking
into account the position of the EU in the digital sector at the global level, as well as the challenges
faced by the Union within the implementation of the Digital Single Market [29].
The second group of research sources are data from the Eastern Partnership Index and the Digital
and Informed Society Subindex [23]. It also includes data from other global digitalization indices
[16;18;19].
The third group of sources, which helped us to analyze the researched issues, are regulatory legal
acts, which contain provisions on the establishment and functioning of the EU Single Digital Market
and the cooperation features of the EU Eastern Partnership Initiative [12; 15; 17; 24].
The fourth group of sources includes research by the European Commission – “Shaping the Digital
Transformation in Europe” [25], the European Parliament – “Digital Transformation in the EU –
2035”[15], as well as the European Association of Telecommunications Network Operators –
“Achieving a Strong Digital Union” [26].
The fifth group of research sources includes analytical materials on the EU’s Single Digital Market
and the integration of Eastern Partnership countries into it. In particular, the analytical notes of the
Institute for Security Studies, Civil Society Forum were used [4; 5; 9; 10; 11].
The sixth group of sources consists of official websites: the website of the European Commission,
the EU Single Digital Market, the website of the EU4digital Initiative, the website of the EU Eastern
Partnership Initiative [17; 21; 22].
In general, there is a lack of comprehensive studies in the direction of the integration of the Eastern
Partnership countries into the EU Single Digital Market.
Proposed methodology. In order to achieve the goals of the study, a number of methods and
techniques of scientific research were applied. We used the method of scientific abstraction for the
construction of structural and logical schemes for: 1. reflecting internal and external factors that can
change the digitalization environment of the Eastern Partnership countries in the future; 2. reflecting
the potential path from the moment of creation of the EU digital market to the creation of a single digital
market of the EU and the Eastern Partnership countries. In order to the thorough analyze the degree of
integration into EU standards of Eastern Partnership countries, the Eastern Partnership Index analysis
method was used. We used a number of scientific methods to analyze the state of digital transformations
in the Eastern Partnership region: systemic – to determine the features and goals of the EU Single
Digital Market; comparative – to determine the differences between the digital markets of EU member
states and Eastern Partnership countries; the index method – for analyzing the positions of the Eastern
Partnership member states in global digitalization indices; document analysis method – for the purpose
of studying regulatory documents governing the EU Single Digital Market, as well as the regulatory
framework of the Eastern Partnership in the field of digitalization; prognostic method – in order to
identify prospects, threats and potential scenarios for the development of cooperation between the EU
and the countries of the Eastern Partnership in the field of digitalization; method of analysis and
synthesis – for formulating generalizations and conclusions.
In March 2021, the European Commission proposed a “2030 Digital Compass”, that highlights four
main areas around which the EU’s digital transformation goals will be focused, namely: skills,
infrastructure, business and management. Within the first direction, the goal is the acquisition of digital
skills by European society, which are a necessary condition for active participation in the Digital
Decade. The second direction involves the achievement of a safe and efficient sustainable digital
infrastructure thanks to network and quantum technologies, cloud infrastructures. The third is applied
to five key business ecosystems, including manufacturing, healthcare, construction, agriculture and
mobility, where 5G devices, AI, process automation, online interactions, etc. find importance in
implementation. The goals within the last direction are to make public services on the Internet fully
accessible to all, inclusive, easy to use, services to be efficient and personalized, and tools with high
security and privacy standards [27].
The theoretical and methodological basis of the study is the transformative, normative and regulatory
power of the EU in the countries participating in the EU Eastern Partnership Initiative. Resorting to the
interpretation of these concepts, we find that the «transformative power» of the EU, according to Dutch
political scientists A. Dimitrova and others, is a power that affects numerous areas in candidate
countries and neighboring states. The power of transformation implicitly or explicitly exists in the
integration model, with the help of which the EU influences states that want to become EU members
or develop closer ties with it – this is the key motivational driver of reforms and the movement of the
member states of the Eastern Partnership to the EU Digital Single Market / approximations in the digital
sphere [31].
M.A. Vakhudova distinguishes between passive and active levers of influence of the European
Union. “By passive levers, I understand the attractiveness of EU membership, and by active ones, I
mean the deliberate conditions that the EU puts forward during the accession process.” In other words,
passive levers are the “thrust” that the EU exerts on the internal politics of likely accession candidates,
just by taking into account the fact of its existence and its habitual behavior, and active levers are
political and economic demands that arise by poviding the EU countries a clear perspective membership
[32].
The “normative power of Europe” is one of the key aspects of the EU’s identity and its international
and regional activities and boils down to the promotion of European values and norms abroad, according
to British researcher Ian Manners (2006). Introducing this notion of “normative” power, I. Manners
claims that the EU is determined to shape or regulate the international environment around it through
rules and values, and not with military means (coercion). I. Manners (2006) noted that the desire of the
European Union to create an acceptable similar international environment around itself is a key goal of
the Union’s foreign policy[33].
In particular, “regulatory power” is interpreted by A. Bradford, a researcher at Columbia
(University), as the ability of the European Union to create and promote its norms and rules beyond its
own borders. She also emphasizes that the EU issues normative acts that eventually become part of the
legal framework of those states that are not its members, and thanks to this, she calls the EU a
“regulatory force” [34].
2. The results
The general availability of digital technologies and the construction of an “information society” are
considered by the EU as one of the strategic goals of its policy. In order to implement this strategic
objective, in 2015 the European Commission adopted the EU Single Digital Market Strategy [12],
which aims to improve consumer access to goods and services via the Internet, create appropriate
conditions for the development of digital technologies, and strengthen the digitization of the economy.
Today, EU member states are working closely together to build the Single Digital Market, develop the
fields of artificial intelligence, blockchain, electronic healthcare and innovation. The EU Digital
roadmap is the Digital Compass, which was adopted on March 9, 2021 by the European Commission
[4; 5]. This document outlined the key development priorities of the EU in the field of digitalization.
The priority areas of the EU Digital Compass were defined as: 1. Digital skills of citizens and
professionals; 2. Secure and sustainable digital infrastructure; 3. E-government; 4. E-business [4; 5].
An important objective of EU foreign policy is cooperation and spread of European policies to
neighboring countries. Support for EU digital reforms in neighboring countries will help strengthen
their democracy and economy. The participating countries of the EU Eastern Partnership Initiative,
despite the economic, energy, and customs rapprochement with Brussels, have also declared integration
into the EU Digital Market. Therefore, it is relevant to analyze the priority areas of cooperation between
the EU and the EaP countries in the digital sphere, to identify the legal framework and the main forms
of cooperation, to analyze the general state of digitization of the countries of the region through the lens
of global indices, to identify the key challenges and prospects for the integration of the digital market
of the Eastern Partnership into the EU SDM.
The priority areas of cooperation between the EU and the countries of the Eastern Partnership
in the digital sphere are: 1. E-Economy; 2. Digital infrastructure; 3. E-commerce; 4. Development of
the information society; 5. E-health; 6. ICT ecosystems of innovations and startups [11].
The key mechanisms for the implementation of the European Digital Policy in the Eastern
Partnership countries are: 1. The EU Eastern Partnership Initiative; 2. EU4Digital Program; 3.
Eastern Partnership ICT Innovation Startup Ecosystem Platform; 4. Thematic Panel Harmonization of
Digital Markets, HDM within the framework of the activities of Platform No. 2 “Economic integration
and rapprochement with EU politicians”; 5. Summits of the Heads of State of the EaP and the EU; 6.
Meetings of high and middle level officials; 7. Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum [21; 22].
Normative regulation of cooperation between the EU and the partner countries of the Eastern
Partnership in the field of Digitalization are: 1. EU Single Digital Market Strategy, 2015; 2. EU
Digital Compass 2030: the European way for the Digital Decade; 3. Declaration during the Second
Eastern Partnership Ministerial Meeting on the Digital Economy, Tallinn, 2017; 4. Document of the
European Commission “Joint Communication: Eastern Partnership policy beyond 2020: Reinforcing
Resilience – an Eastern Partnership that delivers for all”; 5. Association Agreements of Ukraine,
Georgia and the Republic of Moldova; 6. National legislation of Eastern Partnership countries in the
digital sphere; 7. New Pact for Skills partnership to boost digital skills, 2022 [12; 13; 15; 17; 24; 25;
26].
In order to analyze the future of the EaP Digital Market, we used structural and logical schemes
(Figure 1; Figure 2; Figure 3), which allowed us to identify the factors, which have affecting on the
future of the Digital Market of EaP countries and their possible development scenarios.
Figure 1: Diagram of analysis the level of development and dynamics of the EU-Eastern Partnership
countries digital cooperation
Figure 2: The influence of external and internal factors on the future of EaP digital market
Figure 3: Concentric circles of digital trends
In order to analyze the degree of digitalization of the Eastern Partnership countries, we studied global
development indices, in particular the E-Government Development Index, Global Innovation Index and
Network Readiness Index.
E-Government Development Index (EGDI)
2020
ARMENIA 0,7136
AZERBAIJAN 0,71
REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA 0,6881
GEORGIA 0,7174
BELARUS 0,8084
UKRAINE 0,7119
0,62 0,64 0,66 0,68 0,7 0,72 0,74 0,76 0,78 0,8 0,82
Graph 1: E-Government Development Index 2020 [16]
The data analysis of the E-Government Development Index (Graph 1) indicates the degree of
development of the e-government system in the country. According to the analysis of the data in Graph
1, we can conclude that the most developed E-Government system is in Belarus. The indicators are
approximately the same in all other countries of the Eastern Partnership – Armenia, Azerbaijan, the
Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia. In general, the degree of development of the E-Government
sphere is observed at approximately the same level among all countries of the Eastern Partnership,
which have quite high indicators compared to other countries of the world (max. 1) [8; 16].
Global Innovation Index (GII) 2021
40
35
35,6
30 32,6 32,4 32,3 31,4
25 28,4
20
15
10
5
0
Ukraine Belarus Georgia Republic of Azerbaijan Armenia
Moldova
Graph 2: Global Innovation Index 2021[18]
The analysis of the Global Innovation Index indicates the degree of implementation of innovative
technologies in the national economy. The data analysis of Graph 2 indicates that Ukraine was the
leader in the introduction of the innovations in 2021. The positions are approximately the same in
Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Armenia. The situation in Azerbaijan is somewhat
worse. In the overall rating, the countries of the Eastern Partnership occupy positions from 49th
(Ukraine) to 80th (Azerbaijan), which indicates an average level of innovation development in the
countries of the region [18].
Graph 3: Networked Readiness Index 2021 [19]
The goal of the Networked Readiness Index is to measure the readiness of countries to use
opportunities to satisfy all information and communication services. According to the analysis of Graph
3 data, Ukraine is the leader in this indicator, and Azerbaijan is in last place. In general, all countries
of the Eastern Partnership have approximately the same indicator of readiness to use the capabilities of
national Internet networks to satisfy digital services. In the overall ranking of the countries of the world,
the members of the Eastern Partnership occupy average positions – the first is Ukraine (53rd place), the
last is Azerbaijan (69th place) [19].
Graph 4. Correlation of the EaP Index (Linkage) and the Subindex of the EaP Digital and Information
Society 2020-2021 [23]
*Green – EaP Index (Linkage)
**Blue – EaP Digital and Information Society Subindex
According to the analysis of figure 1, we have analyzed the current state of approximation of the
Eastern Partnership countries to the digital policy of the EU, we have analyzed the correlation of the
general Index of the Eastern Partnership (Linkage) and the Eastern Partnership Subindex Digital and
Information Society.
Analyzing the current state of approximation of the Eastern Partnership countries to EU policies in
the field of digitalization, we can note that Georgia and Azerbaijan have experienced the greatest
progress within the framework of the EU Eastern Partnership Initiative in this field (0.82 and 0.83). The
indicators are slightly lower in Belarus and Armenia (0.8 and 0.75). The Republic of Moldova and
Ukraine are slightly worse in the implementation of EU digital reforms (0.63 and 0.59). Overall, we
observe general progress in the direction of digitalization of society in the target countries of the EU
Eastern Partnership Initiative [23].
We have also analyzed the degree of correlation between the general index of the Eastern Partnership
(Linkage) and the Subindex of Digital and Information Society (figure 1). Two groups of countries
should be highlighted: 1) countries with approximately the same correlation indicators (Ukraine,
Georgia and the Republic of Moldova) are states that do not have a large gap between the general level
of integration into EU policies and the digitalization and information society indicator; 2) countries
with significant gap between these indicators (Belarus, Azerbaijan, and Armenia) is a group of states
with a fairly high level of digitalization and information society, but the indicator of the overall degree
of integration and implementation of reforms under the EU Eastern Partnership Initiative is quite low.
Regarding Ukraine, it should be noted that in early September 2022, the European Commission
concluded an agreement on the accession of Ukraine to the Digital Europe Programme. The agreement
stipulates that Ukrainian enterprises, organizations and state administrations will be able to access
opportunities within the framework of the “Digital Europe” program, the total budget of which for
2021-2027 is 7.5 billion euros [30].
It has been studied that the EU seeks to achieve the set goals in the field of digitalization by launching
multinational and large-scale projects that will attract investment and consolidate the efforts of EU
member states around common gaps in the digital sector. The European Union also plans to fulfill the
goals by 2030 thanks to the strengthening of international cooperation and the search for reliable
partners, the development of digital economy packages, which will be financed through relevant
initiatives. Therefore, by 2030, the international digital partnership should lead to greater opportunities
for European companies, the expansion of digital trade through secure networks, respect for European
standards and values, as well as a more favorable international environment for digital transformation.
According to the data analysis of figure 1, we have divided the countries into a clusters according to
the degree of integration of the EU Eastern Partnership Initiative target countries into EU Digital Policy:
1. Countries that are as close as possible to the Digital Course of the EU (0.9 -1) – unfortunately,
there are no states among the EaP countries with this indicator;
2. Countries actively implementing the European Digital Course (0.75-0.89) – Georgia,
Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus;
3. Transition countries (0.5-0.74) – Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova;
4. Countries with a low level of support for the European Course of digitization (0-0.49) – among
the countries of the Eastern Partnership, there are no states in which European reforms of the course
of digitization are being sabotaged.
Threats to the implementation of the European Digital Course in the Eastern Partnership
countries are: lack of clear coordination between the EU and the authorities of the Eastern Partnership
countries of digital technologies and reforms implementation; low level of implementation of the
internal digital market in the countries; low level of digital economy; a significant gap between the
actually adopted government policy and the practical implementation of the digitization course in these
countries; low level of digital literacy of the population; a large number of cyberattacks by Russia;
outdated digital technologies in a significant number of spheres of social life; high level of corruption
in the countries of the region; a large gap between urban and the peripheral digitalization; not all
settlements in the countries of the region have Internet coverage; inhibition in the adoption of national
legislation in the digital sphere; reluctance of some Eastern Partnership countries to integrate into the
EU; low level of economic development of the countries of the region; geopolitical influence of the
Russian Federation on the region, which inhibits the implementation of European reforms; the presence
of such threats as COVID-19, cyber-attacks, the problem of personal data protection and electronic
privacy, geo-blocking, as well as insufficient digital competence of citizens; low level of development
of the digital economy; EU regulatory barriers in relation to countries the Eastern Partnership region;
low level of development of innovative technologies and low level of financing of scientific
developments in the field of digitization; low level of involvement of investments in the digital industry;
internal barriers of digital communications regulation; lack of joint services of the EU and the Eastern
Partnership countries that would coordinate digital integration; low level of digitization of various
industries [1; 2; 6; 7; 9; 11; 14; 20].
The effects of the EU Eastern Partnership digital initiatives. Digital innovations are
fundamentally changing the world economy. Reduction of search and information costs, rapid growth
of new products and markets are projected to increase global trade flows, including exports from
developing countries. At the same time, digital technologies threaten privacy and security around the
world, but developing countries that lack the tools to compete in the new digital environment risk being
left behind. Therefore, one of the motivational factors of reforms in the digital sector of the Eastern
Partnership countries is the need to adapt to the digital decade in a global dimension.
The level of development of the digital economy is closely correlated with the competitiveness of
countries, which requires special attention of the state and business to its development. Today, the
electronic economy is already going beyond economic processes. Digitization is taking root in social
processes and there is a large-scale implementation of digital technologies into the work of state
organizations and structures. On the other hand, for individual target countries of the Eastern
Partnership, such as the newly created format of the “Associated Trio” consisting of Ukraine, Moldova
and Georgia, there is a second dimension of motivation – regional, the essence of which is reduced to
joining the EU, and the task is the integration of these countries into The EU Digital Single Market.
The consequences of the digital approximation of the Eastern Partnership countries to EU Digital
Trends can be both positive and negative. Positive: policies and measures promoting digital
transformation are a driver of recovery, growth and global competitiveness: although in all cases the
social and economic consequences of the crisis will need to be mitigated, regions that act faster will be
able to recover faster by taking the lead in digital chains.
Negative: the fragmentation of the European market and its projection into the markets of the target
countries of the Eastern Partnership, internal barriers in the regulation of digital communications, in
particular in the copyright legislation and data protection, uneven progress in digitalization and, as a
result, a disproportionate distribution of economic benefits between target states of the Eastern
Partnership, cyber security, data protection and electronic privacy, transparency of online platforms,
uneven funding at the national level and a general lack of investment in the field of digital
transformation and innovative research, the impact of access to high-speed Internet on the
competitiveness of states, geo-blocking, as well as an insufficient level of digital competence citizens
Recommendations and prospects for improving the dynamics of the transition to the European
Digital Course by the EaP countries. Possible scenarios for the development of the European Digital
Course in the Eastern Partnership countries: 1. All the countries of the Eastern Partnership will carry
out maximum reforms in the field of digitalization, will be as close as possible to European standards.
A single digital market of the EU and the countries of the Eastern Partnership will be created (in short
and long term, it is unlikely, as there are significant threats of the further cooperation format of some
states under the Initiative (Belarus)); 2. The countries of the Eastern Partnership will be divided into
two blocks – the first is the countries of the “Associated Trio” (Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic of
Moldova), which will show the greatest desire to join the EU, therefore they will maximally implement
the European digital course and achieve significant success. Another group of states – Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Belarus (the country has suspended participation in the Initiative format) will not
achieve full harmonization with the European course of digitization (in the medium term, this is the
most likely option); 3. Due to the complex geopolitical situation in the Eastern Partnership region,
European reforms are slowed down in the target countries (in the short term, it is a possible option
caused by Russia's war against Ukraine, and in the long term it is unlikely); 4. All countries of the
Eastern Partnership will abandon the European course on digitization (unlikely option, with the
exception of the termination of the cooperation format in the scope of the EU Eastern Partnership
Initiative).
Recommendations for strengthening the digitalization of the Eastern Partnership countries
and their integration into the EU Single Digital Market: 1. Increasing the level of digital literacy
and digital skills of citizens; 2. Strengthening the fight against cybercrime; 3. Strengthening the
protection of personal data; 4. Acceleration of reforms in the fields of e-governance, e-economy, e-
health, Smart Grid Technology; 5. Comprehensive training of personnel in the digital industry; 6.
Internet Expansion on 100% of the territory of the regional countries; 7. Elimination of internal and
external barriers that obstacle digitalization of countries; 8. Overcoming political and economic crises
in countries; 9. Adoption and active implementation of national legislation in the digital industry; 10.
Active implementation of the European digital course and standards; 11. Creation of joint coordination
structures that will coordinate efforts between the EU and Eastern Partnership countries in the
digitalization process; 12. Implementation of 5G technologies; 13. Attraction of European investments
in the digital industry; 14. Reduction of taxes on the implementation and development of digital
technologies; 15. State support for enterprises and scientists working on the introduction of digital
technologies; 16. Improve public access to goods and services via the Internet; 17. Create appropriate
conditions for the development of digital networks; 18. Development of artificial intelligence; 19.
Implementation of EU best practices in the digital sphere in Eastern Partnership countries [1; 2; 3; 6; 9;
11; 13; 14; 20].
3. Conclusion
Globalization and scientific and technological progress in the 21st century force society to introduce
digital technologies into various spheres of social life. The EU is a world leader in digitization. In 2015,
the EU introduced the strategy of creating a Single Digital Market, and also adopted the EU Digital
Compass 2030, which prioritized the implementation of digital technologies and the creation of a
common digital market of 27 member states. Cooperation with neighboring countries is a priority of
EU foreign policy. The countries of the Eastern Partnership are ones of the Union’s key partners in the
field of digitalization. The priority areas of cooperation are: e-economy; digital infrastructure; e-
commerce; development of the information society; e-health; ICT ecosystems of innovations and
startups. The key mechanisms of cooperation and integration of Eastern Partnership countries into the
EU Single Digital Market are: EU Eastern Partnership Initiative; EU4digital program; Thematic Panel
Harmonization of Digital Markets; Thematic platform No. 2 “Economic integration and rapprochement
with EU politicians” and others. The analysis of structural and logical schemes helped us to assess the
degree of integration of the Eastern Partnership countries into the EU SDM, to assess internal and
external factors affecting the future integration of the target countries into the EU SDM, and to highlight
potential scenarios of the events development of the digital future of the Eastern Partnership countries.
By analyzing the Eastern Partnership Digital and Information Society Subindex, it was found that, in
general, we observe a general progress in the direction of digitalization of society in the target countries
of the EU Eastern Partnership Initiative. The data of the E-Government Development Index, Global
Innovation Index and Networked Readiness Index were also analyzed. The countries of the Eastern
Partnership were found to have above-average indicators among the countries of the world in the field
of digitization. The key threats to the implementation of the European Digitalization Course in the
countries of the Eastern Partnership are: the low level of implementation of the internal digital market
in the target countries; a significant gap between the actually adopted government policy and the
practical implementation of the digitization course in these countries; low level of digital literacy of the
population; cybercrime, outdated digital technologies in a significant number of spheres of public life,
high level of corruption in the countries of the region; a large gap between urban and the peripheral
digitalization; the presence of such threats as COVID-19, cyber-attacks, the problem of personal data
protection and electronic privacy, geo-blocking, as well as insufficient digital competence of citizens;
low level of development of the digital economy and others. Possible scenarios regarding the future
integration of the digital market of the EaP into the digital market of the EU: 1. A single digital market
of the EU and the Eastern Partnership countries will be created (in the short and long term is unlikely);
2. The countries of the “Associated Trio” will achieve significantly greater progress in digital
integration with the EU in the medium term than the other three members; 3. Due to the complex
geopolitical situation in the region, the digital integration of EaP countries will be slowed down (in the
short term is highly probable); 4. All countries of the Eastern Partnership will abandon the European
Digitization Course (unlikely option, with the exception of the termination of the cooperation format in
scope of the EU Eastern Partnership Initiative). In order to strengthen the integration of the Eastern
Partnership countries into the SDM the EU should take a number of comprehensive measures, which
will help to accelerate the development of governance and economic growth of the states. It is important
to harmonize national legislation in the field of digital technologies, to introduce digital technologies
into all spheres of social life, to carry out a comprehensive fight against cybercrime, to increase the
digital literacy of the population, to attract European investments in the digital sphere of the countries
of the region, to improve digital networks, to bring national norms up to European standards in digital
sphere.
4. Acknowledgments
The article was written within the framework of the project "EUROPEAN STUDIES FOR
TECHNICAL SPECIALTIES AT LVIV POLYTECHNIC NATIONAL UNIVERSITY " No
101047462 — EUSTS — ERASMUS-JMO-2021-HEI-TCH-RSCH directed by Jean Monnet within
the framework of the EU Erasmus + program. ERASMUS+ J.MONNET CHAIR. GRANT
AGREEMENT NUMBER: No 101047462 — EUSTS
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