The study identifies the growth of social and economic divergence between Ukraine and the EU. The purpose of this paper is to fill a gap in the literature on the scale and dynamics of an upward divergence between Ukraine and the EU by comparing integral indices of social and economic development of both areas. Reaching this goal is important for elaborating new guidelines for cohesion policy of the EU and recommendations on Ukraine’s integration strategy. This research differs from the previously published ones by a new approach to measure social and economic integral indices used for estimating the rate of divergence between Ukraine and the EU. A distinctive feature of the author’s methodology of the integral estimation of social and economic development of Ukraine and the EU-28 is the use of the innovative composition of indicators and the multiplicative form of the integral index, the simultaneous normalization and integral assessment indicators and justification of weights based on the principal component analysis (PCA). Priority areas of social and economic development of Ukraine as a prerequisite for the policy of rapprochement and integration with the EU are diversification of foreign economic relations, ensuring the stability and independence of the financial system, improving the parameters of the social security system, involving drivers of economic development, increasing the level of energy efficiency and energy saving.