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The European Development Days has become known as the flagship event for international development cooperation. Over the past 9 years, the ''Davos for Development'', as it is often referred to, has brought together an impressive 2670 speakers and as many as 100 world leaders, 514 exhibitors and 42,000 participants from 154 countries, as well as 4,500 organisations.

The European Development Days is a two day event in Brussels (15-16 June 2016) to generate new ideas, take action and shape the future with world leaders, young leaders and hundreds of speakers, civil society organisations and international organisations.

The Europe’s leading forum on global development and cooperation, ''European Development Days 2016'' (EDDs) is officially launched on 15 June 2016 with a record number of over 6,000 development professionals from around 150 countries.

Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, underlined that the 10^th anniversary of the European Development Days would focus on results: turning the UN Sustainable Development Goals (see below) from commitments into actions. It is to reflect Europe's open policies, partnerships and resources to support global development, eradicate poverty once and for all, and shift the planet onto a sustainable, inclusive and prosperous path.

The EDDs come at a crucial time for the future of international development, shortly after the ''Agenda for Sustainable Development'', which is a universal framework to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development by 2030, was adopted in September 2015.

The European Development Days will focus on implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, building upon 5 vital ''P''s for sustainable development: Partnership, Peace, Prosperity, Planet and People.

Key element in the EDDs is the adoption of a Joint Declaration by Jim Yong Kim, the President of the World Bank and the European Commission, represented by the Vice-President of the European Commission, Kristalina Georgieva and Commissioner Neven Mimica. The declaration represents a joint commitment to strengthening action in sustaining peace and increasing the impact in situations affected by fragility, conflict and violence.

This year the EDDs will promote youth as the driving force behind global development efforts and highlights the importance of engaging young people on the path to sustainability. By inviting young people aged 21 to 26 from around the world to join the debate on the future of international development cooperation, the European Commission aims to involve them in shaping future development policies. 16 Young Leaders have been invited from partner countries to bring fresh thinking to the debates about development policy and international cooperation.

The European Development Days 2016 draws over 500 speakers and prominent decision makers, including representatives of international organisations. The EDDs take place at the same time as the EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW), now in its 11^th edition.

More information on sustainable development at:

= EuropeAid's website:

https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/home_en;

= European Development Days 2016 official website:

https://www.eudevdays.eu/;

= Factsheet: European Commission welcomes new 2030 United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development at: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-5708_en.htm;

= Factsheet: Sustainable Development Goals and the Agenda2030 at:

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-15-5709_en.htm.

Source: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-16-2175_en.htm.  

Sustainability: priorities for the EU and UN policies

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development sets out the global framework to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development by 2030. The new objectives, a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (known as SDGs), were formally adopted by the international community at a dedicated UN Summit from the 25 to 27 September 2015.

The 2030 Agenda was informally agreed by consensus at the UN in August 2015; the Addis Ababa Action Agenda agreed in July 2015 also formed an integral part of the 2030 Agenda by setting out tools, policies and resources that need to be put in place to ensure that it can be implemented.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will respond comprehensively to global challenges. It incorporates and follows on from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, and the Financing for Development Conferences. The 2030 Agenda addresses poverty eradication and the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development together.

Three sustainability dimensions

The new 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 associated targets integrate and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development, covering areas such as poverty, inequality, food security, health, sustainable consumption and production, growth, employment, infrastructure, sustainable management of natural resources, oceans, climate change, but also gender equality, peaceful and inclusive societies, access to justice and accountable institutions.

The 2030 Agenda is a universal agreement; its implementation will require action by all countries, developed and developing. It will be underpinned by a Global Partnership, mobilising governments and stakeholders (citizens, civil society, private sector, academia, etc.), at all levels.

There are the following 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

·         Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere;

·         Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture;

·         Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages;

·         Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all;

·         Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls;

·         Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all;

·         Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all;

·         Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all;

·         Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation;

·         Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries;

·         Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable;

·         Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns;

·         Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts;*

·         Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development;

·         Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss;

·         Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels;

·         Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation.

The European Union's contribution to the 2030 Agenda

The EU is determined to fully implement the 2030 Agenda, across the range of its internal and external policies aligning its own policies and actions to the objectives of the Agenda. In doing so, the EU remains committed to global solidarity and will support the implementation efforts in countries most in need.

Examples of how the EU’s development cooperation can contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda:

The EU-28 is already the world’s largest donor of development aid, pledged to increase their collective Official Development Assistance (ODA) and achieve 0.7% of EU Gross National Income (GNI) within the timeframe of the 2030 Agenda.

As part of the Agenda for Change, with the view of increasing the impact of EU Development Policy, the EU refocused its aid to ensure that it goes to those countries which need it most. In this prospect, the EU has unilaterally recommitted to a specific ODA target of 0.20 % ODA/GNI for Least Developed Countries (LDCs), between 2015 and 2030.

Gender equality is fully integrated in development cooperation programmes or allocating funds to ensure environmental sustainability as a core pillar of development policy as a prerequisite for lasting socio-economic development and poverty eradication. The EU will implement its new Gender framework to promote gender equality, as well as girls' and women's empowerment.

The EU will help developing countries to mobilise more domestic resources, for example with EU budget support programmes that will continue to improve their management of public finances.

Through cooperation and partnerships with the private sector the EU will leverage more development funding. Working together with partner countries, it will invest in key sectors such as infrastructure, energy and support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). EU action will focus on promoting an enabling business environment and responsible business practice.

The EU remains the world's most open market. The EU Generalised System of Preference (GSP) and GSP+ schemes for developing countries are among the most comprehensive, accessible and valuable schemes in the world. The EU provides duty free and quota free market access to Least Developed Countries (LDCs), with total LDC exports to the EU currently worth over €35 billion annually. In addition, the EU is the biggest provider of Aid for Trade.

Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (€77 billion) is open to researchers from developing countries. The EU will allocate at least 20% of its ODA to human development in the period until 2020, to areas such as education and health.

The EU will support the 'New Deal for Fragile States' adopted by the international community in 2011, including through funding its implementation. Moreover, over half of the EU's bilateral development funding will continue to go to fragile and conflict affected states.

With regard to environment and climate, the EU leads the efforts for a sustainable world.

20% of the EU's assistance, about €14 billion up to 2020, will address climate change objectives.

In addition, at least 25% of European Investment Bank (EIB) financing operations shall support climate change mitigation and adaptation in order to further the promotion of the Union's climate goals on a global scale. The EU will invest €1.3 billion specifically for environment and climate-related global public goods and challenges by 2020, including, for example, €154 million on forests and €81 million on water.

The EU will provide up to €1 billion for biodiversity and ecosystems, including wildlife conservation. The EU shares experiences, runs strategic dialogues and implements projects with a number of partner countries on biodiversity, ecosystems and natural capital accounting, providing support of € 170 million.

The EU has foreseen €50 million of multilateral support specifically for the sound management of chemicals and waste as this mismanagement primarily affects the poorest.

For more information see:

= Press release: European Commission welcomes new 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development, in: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-5708_en.htm;

= Factsheet on what the EU has achieved with the MDGs, in:          

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-15-5709_en.htm;

= Brochure on Financing Global Sustainable Development after 2015: Illustrations of key EU contributions, in:

https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/financing-global-sustainable-development-after-2015-illustrations-key-eu-contributions_en; = Infograph on Financing Global Sustainable Development after 2015: Illustrations of key EU contributions, in: https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/sites/devco/files/post-2015-development-infograph-final_en.pdf

2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development:

http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/mdgoverview/post-2015-development-agenda.html

Source: European Commission, fact sheet “Sustainable Development Goals and the Agenda2030”, Brussels, 25 September 2015, in:

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-15-5709_en.htm

European Commission’s approach to the new 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development

The EU has been a leader in contributing to this process from the start. It is now committed to take this agenda forward, both inside the EU (such as through forthcoming EU initiatives like, inter alia, the Circular Economy Strategy which is designed to address more sustainable patterns of production and consumption) and through the EU's external policies by supporting implementation efforts in other countries, in particular those most in need.

= On the Millennium Development Goals

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have shown that setting goals can help drive unprecedented progress across the globe and achieved remarkable results. They have guided EU development policy for 15 years and the EU has made a major contribution to reaching the goals. The EU and its member states is collectively the world’s largest development donor by far, providing €58 billion in 2014.

= On the new 2030 Agenda

The 2030 Agenda ('Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development) was informally agreed by consensus at the UN in August 2015 and adopted at the UN Summit in September. The adoption of the 2030 Agenda marked the culmination of an inclusive three-year process (previously known as "the post-2015 development agenda") and was characterised by the unprecedented participation of civil society and other stakeholders.

The new 2030 Agenda re-defines the ways the international community works together on a global commitment to a different kind of future for people and the planet – one which will put the world on a path towards sustainable development. While the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targeted developing countries, the 2030 Agenda is the first-ever global agreement setting a universal, comprehensive agenda for action that will affect all countries, including domestic policies.

The 17 new Sustainable Development Goals (to be known as "SDGs") and 169 associated targets will ensure the world continues to deliver on the previous MDG and Rio commitments, while also including goals for a range of other areas. Progress towards the MDGs has been uneven around the world, and not all targets were reached. The geopolitical changes of the past 15 years have led to a realisation that a more universal set of targets, requiring integrated solutions, is now more appropriate. The new Agenda is much broader and applies to all countries. It came about in an unprecedented participatory process engaging people from all over the world.

As a universal agreement, the implementation of the new Agenda will require action by all countries. It will be underpinned by a Global Partnership mobilising action by governments and stakeholders at all levels. This Agenda will have a strong follow-up and review mechanism, which will allow monitoring of progress on its implementation and will ensure accountability towards our citizens. One major innovation in the 2030 Agenda is an acknowledgement that working towards sustainable development requires simultaneous progress on three fronts, with economic, social and environmental issues tackled together in an integrated manner.

The full range of resources - domestic and international, public and private - will be needed for successful implementation. All countries will need to contribute their fair share, taking account of levels of development, national contexts and capacities. National ownership and accountability will be of key importance to achieve the Agenda.

Source: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-5708_en.htm.