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EU’s strategy towards implementation of SDGs in the states
The EU and the member states have been worked collectively
on implementation of all UN Sustainable
Development Goals, SDGs since 2015. They are learning from past lessons,
adapting to new circumstances and innovating in their national and international
cooperation.
The EU institutions and the member states are strongly
committed to deliver on the UN-2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which
is as a shared global roadmap for a prosperous growth with well-being as the
main task.
In September 2015, the General Assembly of the United
Nations adopted a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals, i.e. SDG-17 to
end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all.
More on SDGs in: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300
The EU efforts
In January 2019, the European Commission presented a reflection
paper “Towards a sustainable Europe by 2030” which showed the EU states’
progress made in implementing SDGs and identified the necessary priorities in
moving forward. The priorities included: - developing a fully circular economy,
- creating a sustainable food system, - steps to “greening energy”, mobility
and the built environment, and gearing all our horizontal policy tools, from
education and digitisation to finance and taxation, towards the sustainability
transition.
The reflection paper highlights that there is no
sustainability without social sustainability, which is why it is of fundamental
importance to ensure that the sustainability transition is socially fair, for
the benefit of all and leaving no one behind.
More on reflection paper in: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-701_en.htm
At least two commissioners are responsible for SDGs in the EU:
thus, first Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans noticed
that the UN-2030 Agenda is both a comprehensive
plan for creating truly green economies and an “instrument” for increasing
well-being. He added that the EU institutions and the member states are strengthening
their collective effort to translate the SDGs into concrete actions that can be
measured and monitored. In the next five years the European Commission will try
to fully integrate the SDGs into the member states’ economic governance and the
EU’s development model.
Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development,
Neven Mimica added that the EU member states are already at the forefront of adopting the 2030 Agenda and
making it a reality. Working in partnership with developing countries within
the multilateral system, the EU can accelerate progress towards sustainable
development.
Commissioner for Environment, Maritime affairs and Fisheries,
Karmenu Vella said that a shared,
prosperous and sustainable future for all can only be achieved by knitting
together the social, economic and environmental dimensions in the member
states’ developmental policies. He also added that the transition to
ecologically sustainable economic growth and competitiveness could be only
successful if it promotes social rights and well-being for all.
The European Union has already embarked on a transition
towards a low-carbon economy as providing for the climate neutral,
resource-efficient and circular growth while ensuring social equality and
inclusiveness. The EU has also put the SDGs at the heart of its external action
and has aligned all development activities with UN-2030 Agenda through its
new European Consensus on Development.
However, many sustainability challenges have become
increasingly pressing, and new ones have emerged, putting human well-being,
economic prosperity, our society and our environment at risk. To accelerate the
achievement of the ambitious and interlinked SDGs, the EU highlights its
commitment to systematically review the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and
follow-up respectively.
Horizontal SDG-policy’s approach
As the reflection paper on “sustainable EU towards 2030”
suggested, the horizontal enablers, which need to underpin the sustainability
transition, including education, science, technology, research, innovation and
digitisation; finance, pricing, taxation and competition; responsible business
conduct, corporate social responsibility and new business models; open and
rules-based trade; governance and policy coherence at all levels. The paper emphases
the importance of blazing the trail for the sustainability transition globally
as the world regional policies will only have a limited impact on the planet if
other partners pursue opposing policies.
Besides, the paper revealed three scenarios to
stimulate the discussion on how to follow up on the Sustainable Development
Goals in the EU states. These scenarios are illustrative: they aim to offer
different ideas and spur debate and thinking; the Commission asserted that an eventual
outcome would be a combination of certain elements from each.
The three scenarios are:
- An
overarching EU SDGs strategy guiding the actions of the EU institutions
and those of the member states;
- A
continued mainstreaming of the SDGs in all relevant EU policies by the
Commission, though not enforcing the member states' actions;
- An
enhanced focus on external action while consolidating current
sustainability ambition at the EU and the states’ level.
Reference: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-701_en.htm
The EU’s first implementation report
On 25 September 2015, the General Assembly of the United
Nations adopted a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals to end poverty,
protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable
development agenda, the "2030 Agenda". Each of the 17 goals has
specific targets (169 targets in total) to be achieved by 2030. The EU was a
leading force behind the adoption of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable
Development Goals.
In November 2016, the Commission adopted a Communication to
the EU institutions on the “Next steps for a sustainable European future” in
response to the 2030 Agenda. The Communication presented a picture of the EU’s
efforts in contributing to the 2030 Agenda by highlighting key EU policies for
each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals; it also explained how the Commission’s
10 priorities for 2014-19 could contribute to the 2030 global agenda.
The Communication mentioned some financial assistance
through the EU funds: European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF): the
three cohesion policy funds (i.e. the European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF), the Cohesion Fund (CF) and the European Social Fund (ESF)), the
European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European
Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).
More on the “next steps” in: https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/sites/devco/files/communication-next-steps-sustainable-europe-20161122_en.pdf
In September 2017, the Commission President announced a reflection
paper entitled 'Towards a Sustainable Europe by 2030' on the follow-up to the
Sustainable Development Goals and on the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
More in: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-701_en.htm
The first officially presented “Joint Synthesis Report
on the implementation of the European Consensus on Development” in July 2019 showed
how the EU institutions and the member states had been advancing sustainable
development principles through their development cooperation with partner
countries, whilst strengthening their cooperation with the UN and other
multilateral organisations, civil society and the private sector.
The report, for instance, underlines significant progress in
helping reducing extreme poverty through more joint-up EU action, in promoting
gender equality, and in improving health services for mlns of people across the
world. It also highlights that the EU contributed over €20 bn in 2017 alone to
support developing countries in their efforts to tackle and adapt to climate
change. EU support to sustainable energy is on course to achieving energy
access for about 40 mln people, with annual CO2 emissions savings of around 15 mln
tons.
The ‘Eurostat Monitoring Report on progress towards the
SDGs in an EU context' is a key tool for evaluating how the EU and the member
states have been advancing on the SDGs, helping also to highlight the
cross-cutting and interconnected nature of the SDGs.
On the Eurostat report on SDGs in: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/de/web/products-statistical-books/-/KS-04-17-780
Monitoring SDG progress in: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3217494/8461633/KS-04-17-780-EN-N.pdf/f7694981-6190-46fb-99d6-d092ce04083f
The 2019 EU report on Policy Coherence for Development showcases
EU's progress on formulating policies which take into account from the outset
the impacts on developing countries, a central aspect to the effective
implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
On policy coherence for development in: https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/news-and-events/2019-eu-report-policy-coherence-development_en.
Additional on “coherence” in: https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/policies/policy-coherence-development_en.
More on Joint
synthesis report in: https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/supporting-sustainable-development-goals-across-world-2019-joint-synthesis-report-european-union-and_en
Present first joint “synthesis” report is mainly a document
to reaffirm the EU and the states’ commitment to implement the UN-2030 Agenda,
in partnership with developing countries and other partners. The report also
summarized actions fulfilled while confirming states’ determination to work
together for a prosperous, sustainable and peaceful world.
More information in the following web-links:
- Factsheet;
- The
EU and the Sustainable Development Goals webpage;
- UN High Level Political
Forum (HLPF);
- 2019
EU report on Policy Coherence for Development;
- Commission press release “European Union presents its progress towards sustainable development”, Brussels,
18 July 2019, in:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-4250_en.htm?locale=en