This article embarks on a crucial exploration of the implementation and integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria within the energy sector of European countries, with the ultimate objective of refining the energy legislation in Ukraine. The research delves into the evolving role of ESG standards as a cornerstone in corporate strategy and investment, transitioned from its roots in socially responsible investing to a comprehensive framework that intertwines ethical, environmental, and governance considerations with financial analysis. The main thrust of the study is the following: firstly, it provides a panoramic overview of ESG applications within European energy projects, underscoring pivotal policies, strategies, and instances of successful ESG standard incorporation. Secondly, it benchmarks and compares ESG practices across Europe’s energy sector to distill best practices and their consequential trends and impacts. Lastly, this study converges these European insights to forge pragmatic recommendations for Ukraine’s energy legislation, aiming for an elevated integration of ESG standards that are in step with European benchmarks. The anticipated outcomes offer recommendations for enhancing Ukraine’s energy sector with robust ESG standards, proposing steps that align with the country’s newly adopted Energy Strategy 2050 and international sustainability goals.

In response to global economic, social, and environmental problems, ESG investment principles have changed the approach to directing and structuring foreign direct investment. Additionally, they are becoming an essential factor in attracting migrants. This article aims to determine the impact of foreign direct investment on global migration trends and their peculiarities with the introduction of ESG investment principles. For this purpose, global foreign direct investment flows, global ESG investment flows, and global migration trends have been analyzed from 1995 to 2022. Pairwise correlation calculation was used as the primary analysis method through R-Studio software with integrated R programming language. The results indicated a 35% correlation between the volume of global ESG investment flows and the number of international migrants (as a percentage of the total population, which varies between 3.2% and 3.6%) for 2010-2022. Subsequently, regression analysis was conducted to explore the relationship between critical variables: investment flows and the level of migration in four European countries (France, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Germany). It was determined that investment inflows led to new jobs, accelerated economic growth, and improved business climate, thus encouraging reduced outflow and increased inflow of migrants. Investments based on ESG principles also reduce emigration as they enhance the quality of life in the host country, provide better environmental protection, and promote more transparent corporate management. However, it should be noted that investments have no apparent impact on migration caused by external factors such as wars or political conflicts, so such analysis should not include periods of global economic and political unrest.

The integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria in investment decision-making is increasingly critical for evaluating energy projects. This study develops a structured, quantifiable framework using the Fuzzy DEMATEL method to assess and rank ESG factors, addressing the limitations of traditional scoring-based models. The proposed methodology systematically identifies the most influential ESG criteria and accounts for their interdependencies, providing a more comprehensive decision-making tool. The analysis, based on expert evaluations, highlights the dominant role of renewable energy integration, resource efficiency, and risk management in determining project sustainability. The results demonstrate that the framework ensures a more transparent and adaptable assessment process, supporting both investors and policymakers in navigating complex energy investment landscapes. The study also establishes a scalable approach that can incorporate financial performance indicators, enhancing the practical applicability of ESG-based investment evaluation.

The problem of investment is one of the urgent issues for our country. Ensuring investment in critical infrastructure objects in conditions of hostilities and against the backdrop of the destruction of this infrastructure is associated not so much with economic growth as with the current survival of the country , burdened by continuous military actions. The need for more dynamic development of investment processes aimed at attracting ESG investments in critical infrastructure has been emphasized. The aim of the article is to explore the prospects of ESG investment in critical infrastructure during the post-war recovery period of Ukraine. It has been established that the ESG concept is a modern trend in the investment space that needs to be considered and implemented in practice. The importance of implementing ESG criteria has significantly increased in recent decades and is expected to grow even faster in the near future. Most infrastructure funds view ESG as a driving force that enhances the value and stability of portfolio companies against the backdrop of constant global changes. To benefit from the opportunities provided by ESG investment, it is necessary to consider ESG criteria (environmental, social, and governance) at every stage of the investment life cycle. ESG is increasingly becoming a requirement for investment compliance. It has been established that ESG investment, as the implementation of the ESG concept, contributes to positive changes in society, preserves the environment, etc. However, in the case of the urgent need for rapid and effective post-war recovery of critical infrastructure in Ukraine, it will significantly complicate the process since compliance with ESG criteria, which could be ignored earlier, will have to be followed. The need to change the regulatory framework regarding the inclusion of ESG investment specifics and to transform approaches to investment in the domestic business community is mentioned because the international business community seeks to invest its capital in enterprises and territories that meet ESG criteria. For Ukraine, transformation aimed at meeting the requirements for ESG investment is both a challenge and a necessity for integration into global investment processes.

Private-public partnerships (PPPs) have become one of the leading and most effective models for investing in critical infrastructure, so the use and development of PPP models based on best practices is of particular importance in the current crisis period and during post-war recovery due to high pressure on the state budget and high risks for investment. The purpose of the study is to analyze progressive practices for the implementation of PPP projects for the critical infrastructure sectors and to develop recommendations for formulating a strategy for the usage of PPP projects in the different sectors of Ukrainian critical infrastructure. A detailed analysis of current approaches to the implementation of PPPs in the field of critical infrastructure was conducted, progressive practices of applying digitalization tools in this area were identified, and problems and prospects for their implementation were outlined. The potential factors, barriers and incentives based on regulatory, political, social, and technical factors that affect the implementation and effectiveness of PPPs in creating a modern "smart infrastructure" are highlighted. It is determined that the most important sectors for the execution of PPPs projects in most countries in recent years have been transportation, environment, education, healthcare, and telecommunications. However, the analysis of PPP projects in Ukraine concluded that the main areas of focus were the production and supply of water, gas and heat, while less attention was paid to infrastructure for education and healthcare. The article proposes strategies for the implementation of PPPs and determines the importance of each of their components for the successful implementation of PPPs, which will be relevant for Ukraine, especially at the stage of post-war reconstruction of critical infrastructure. The results of the study provide systematized information that will be useful for civil authorities, potential investors, and the scientific community.

Introduction. The European integration course actualizes the need for more dynamic development of all processes aimed at the formation of digital infrastructure in Ukraine. Strengthening existing and forming new elements is one of the priority directions of the state policy of countries in the context of the transition to the digital economy. Problem Statement. The use of an institutional approach will make it possible to explain the current state and predict further ways of development of the digital infrastructure of Ukraine. Purpose.To assess the state and prospects of institutional support for the formation of Ukraine's digital infrastructure in the context of European integration processes and to develop recommendations to facilitate investment in it. Methods. The methods of dialectical logic, sociological, theoretical generalization and comparison, abstract-logical, scientific generalization are applied. Given the multifaceted nature of the research subject, the methodological basis is formed by such methods as graphic, structural-functional, and expert evaluations. Results. It was established that the institutional support for the formation of digital infrastructure is the actions of the authorities aimed at the creation of state and non-state institutions, which must provide legal, organizational and economic foundations for changing models of public management and administration, the functioning of business entities through the dominant use of technologies, products and processes using computing, telecommunications and network capabilities of electronic interaction, data exchange, signals, etc. and operate on a digital rather than analog basis. The legal basis for the formation of digital infrastructure is analyzed. The organizational basis includes the presence of relevant institutions in the state both public and private, which are part of the digital infrastructure and ensure its functioning (the state in the form of state authorities (state institutions), business entities and non-profit organizations (private institutions) ). Conclusions. Since the economic base is based on own funds and involved investments, it is proposed: at the legislative level to adopt a strategy for the development of digital infrastructure taking into account European integration processes; attract investments and invest in knowledge and human capital; initiate the creation of crowdfunding platforms, which will facilitate the search for investors for the implementation of startups in the field of digital infrastructure. As part of the development of digital infrastructure, it is proposed to shift the main attention to the development of network and information infrastructure.