The Importance of International Transport and Logistics Infrastructure in the Economic Development of the Country: The Case of the EU for Ukraine

For twenty years, in the EU there has been a trend of a lack of maritime infrastructure and a redundance of the road one, which has a negative impact on the economy. The intermodal transport market structure in the EU has not changed over the past ten years. The stability of transport systems due to the lack of changes in the transport market remains under threat, affecting supply chains and networks through the optimization of warehousing and transportation costs. The research methodology is based on a quantitative assessment of cause-and-effect relations between economic growth and transport and logistics in the EU. A statistical analysis of security indicators, intermodal and modal transport, international trade in goods within the EU and in the world trade in goods, the dynamics of GDP of the EU countries, the level of openness of the EU economy, investment and maintenance costs of different modes of transport and infrastructure has been carried out. The results show that in 2000- 2010 there were positive changes in the transport and logistics infrastructure of the EU, which had a positive effect on trade, openness of the economy of the EU, GDP growth. However, at that time, negative effects of environmental impact and the load on road and rail transport were accumulating. Investment in different modes of transport is limited, and technical maintenance and infrastructure maintenance costs form a significant part of GDP of the EU. A slowdown in economic growth leads to budget constraints and infrastructure financing gap. As a result, the freight and passenger intermodal and modal transport market structure remains virtually unchanged. The load on rail and road transport remains stable, despite the reduced level of transport hazards. Transport productivity has declined over the past ten years. Herewith, the intensification of trade and the openness of the EU economies require constant modernization and innovative renewal. The EU policy in this direction remains normative, uncontrolled, which is reflected in investment differences within the EU and maintenance costs.