IER Kiev

In late August 2025, the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting (IER) released the results of its 40th monthly Business Tendency Survey, covering 474 industrial enterprises across Ukraine. The findings paint a picture of cautious optimism in the short term, but deep uncertainty over the longer horizon.

Ukraine has been part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) since 2017, when the European Union officially extended it to Eastern Partnership countries. For the first time, Ukrainian roads were included in the TEN-T map as part of a network ensuring strategic connections with EU member states. This became the foundation for integrating Ukrainian infrastructure into the unified European transport space.

Ukraine\'s economy experienced a temporary bump in August 2025, with real GDP growth accelerating to an estimated 8% year-over-year after a slight decline in July, according to the latest Monthly Economic Monitoring report from the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting.

Medium-sized private enterprises play an important role in the economy and social development. Medium-sized enterprises operating in domestic and foreign markets are a kind of \"backbone\" of the economy. Compared to small and large enterprises, medium-sized businesses have higher viability, better access to external financing, and \"economies of scale\" benefits. 

Even before the war, crossing Ukraine\'s border with the EU was not a pleasant experience for tourists and businesses. The war has intensified the problems, as the western land border has become a bottleneck for passengers and cargo. As a result, queues at the border and related infrastructure problems remain a challenge for Ukraine and its western neighbors.

The war caught Ukrainian customs in the process of reform. Before the war, the customs service in Ukraine was reformed in several stages. Some results have been achieved, although the main challenges, corruption, and inconsistent regulatory enforcement, still need to be overcome.

A real fight against smuggling is possible only due to a systematic approach and implementation of a set of different measures. The introduction of criminal liability for goods smuggling in itself, without implementing other instruments in the customs will not solve the problem.