The European Commission seeks to integrate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into all EU policies and initiatives. It wants the EU to contribute at a domestic level and in its external policies towards the accomplishment of the 17 SDGs the international community adopted in September 2015 to be achieved by 2030.
For the time being, however, the communication on this subject adopted on Tuesday 22 November in Strasbourg by the College of Commissioners is simply a methodological roadmap for preparing this future strategy that is supposed to align all relevant EU and member state policies on the UN’s 2030 Agenda. The aim of this is to guarantee the well-being and prosperity of all citizens in the EU and the world.
Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans explained, “The second phase will be one of reflection which will put the emphasis on post-2020 sectoral policies. We have already achieved some good results and must continue. Youth unemployment, demographic changes, the climate, energy sources and migration flows are among the challenges we need to meet and must pool our efforts to achieve this”. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, emphasised that the EU “had played a key role in the major accomplishments of multilateralism” and it was time to “Shift from words into action”.
European platform for exchanging good practices coming soon. The Commission announced that it will be using all instruments available to it to guarantee that its current and future policies take into account the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainable development.
The Commission also intends to set up a platform that brings together public and private actors to ensure the follow up to SDG implementation in different sectors, as well as exchange best practices. The Commission provided assurances that from 2017 it would regularly provide a report on the progress accomplished and that it would be launching a reflection work process on the elaboration of the post-2020 sustainable development strategy. On 20 December in Brussels, it will be organising a conference on SDG implementation.
At a much more general level, the document covers all the other subjects and explains how the Commission opinion and the 10 Junker team priorities (1. Employment, growth and investment; 2. Single digital market; 3. Energy and Climate Union; 4. Internal market; 5. Economic and Monetary Union; 6. EU-US free trade; 7. Justice and fundamental rights; 8. Migration; 9. The EU as a global actor; 10. Democratic change) are already contributing to the implementation of these universal goals, which seek to eradicate hunger and extreme poverty, reduce inequalities between the different countries and within them, achieve gender equality, take urgent action to combat climate change and preserve the planet’s resources.
The text also asserts that the EU’s external policy goals, as well as its global security and defence strategy presented in June by the High Representative are based on the vision of the 2030 Agenda founded on human rights, while seeking to put a stop to poverty, transform the lives of people and protect the planet.
NGOs disappointed and sceptical. European development NGOs belonging to the CONCORD network had previously announced their expectations and highlighted the urgency of the EU transforming its policies and practices on food consumption and production, as well as migration but they did not attempt to hide their disappointment (see EUROPE 11669).
In an open letter addressed to European leaders on Monday 21 November CONCORD asks, “Where have our ‘European values’ and solidarity gone?” The NGO highlights the fact that “inequality is rising and people are increasingly questioning so-called austerity” and that “Europe battens down the hatches and diverts development funds to deal with the influx of migrants. Are these really the solutions the SDGs prescribe?” (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)