LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR STATE SUPPORT OF SMALL BUSINESS ENTITIES IN UKRAINE AND THE EUROPEAN UNION

The article presents an overview of the legislation governing state support for small entrepreneurship in Ukraine and the European Union. The necessity of this research stems from the requirement to align national legislation with EU law, following Ukraine’s acquisition of candidate status for EU membership. The creation of favorable conditions for the operation of small business entities has been identified as one of the priority areas of state policy at the level of strategic documents, in particular, the Strategy for the Recovery, Sustainable Development, and Digital Transformation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises for the period up to 2027. The current state programs of state support for small business entities have been analyzed, including «Affordable Loans 5–7–9%» and the governmental project «eRobota», which comprises six grant programs aimed at business initiation and entrepreneurship development. It has been identified that certain provisions of the «Cashback for Ukrainian Goods» program are discriminatory and distort competition, as individual entrepreneurs operating under the simplified taxation system are not eligible to participate. The development of digital infrastructure for supporting small business entities is evidenced by the emergence of online platforms facilitating interaction between the state and businesses, as well as the implementation of consulting online services. One such example is the «Financial Opportunities Marketplace for Business» on the Diia.Business platform, which features current business support programs. It has been substantiated that the current legal framework for state support of small entrepreneurship remains insufficiently effective, primarily due to inconsistencies between legal provisions-specifically, the Law of Ukraine «On the Development and State Support of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Ukraine” and the Law of Ukraine «On State Aid to Business Entities». At the same time, the legislation in this field has been partially aligned with the EU acquis. The regulatory and legal framework for state support requires further improvement, both to facilitate the harmonization of national legislation with EU law and to ensure the effective use of state support instruments for small entrepreneurship, the development of which is essential for post-war recovery and sustainable development.