Members of the European Parliament’s development and environment committees taking part in the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2018 (HLPF), in New York from 16 to 18 July (see EUROPE 12066), have urged the EU and the European Commission to stand up for sustainable development and multilateral cooperation which are currently under severe pressure.
“Facing serious challenges to multilateralism and international cooperation, the EU must lead by example, support a reformed United Nations system and put the Sustainable Development Goals at the heart of all EU policies and the next long-term EU budget” stated Linda McAvan (S&D, UK), who headed up the delegation of eight MEPs from the EPP, S&D, GUE/NGL and EFDD Groups, on Thursday 19 July.
Hailing the fine cooperation between the EU and the United Nations, as witnessed, for instance, by the agreement in mid-July on the Global Compact for safe, orderly and regular migration. McAvan called for the EU to adopt an ambitious action plan for sustainable development before the next HLPF in 2019. Areas to be included in the action plan are climate change, tackling inequalities and making consumption and production patterns more sustainable, the MEPs say.
In 2017, the European Parliament called on the Commission to bring forward an ambitious sustainable development strategy (see EUROPE 11824). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)