Asymmetry of the EU regional space: measurement experience

The article focuses on the problem of heterogeneity of the regional space of the European Union. The nature of the work determined the need to use system-analytical methods, as well as a multidimensional statistical method of research. Chronological framework of the analysis is 2000-2020 years. The paper gives a brief description of the regional policy of the European Union aimed at bringing together the level of socio-economic development of the EU states, the “cohesion policy”. The authors emphasize that despite the declared success of the ambitious Strategy “Europe 2020”, the effectiveness of the “cohesion policy"” (outside the environmental aspect) is quite difficult to justify. The conducted clustering made it possible to single out groups of EU countries according to the level of socio-economic development: leading, occupying an intermediate position and “catching up”. The latter group includes the traditionally “poor” “old” members of the EU, as well as most of the “new” states which are members of the regional association. The authors emphasize that the continuing disparity between donor and recipient countries has a negative impact on the development of the European Union as a whole, as a result of which, in addition to the tools of the new program period of the “cohesion policy”, it is desirable for the EU countries to develop additional measures to regulate the asymmetry of the regional space.