It is in the interest of the EU and its Member States to take a leading role in the implementation of the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and its 17 SDGs, and to promote effective multilateralism, the EU Council stated in conclusions adopted on Monday 8 July.
The EU Council “calls on the EU and its Member States to make a strong commitment” at the UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (9-18 July) and the September summit in New York, whose importance it underlines (see EUROPE 12228/16). It welcomes the first joint EU/Member State synthesis report on the implementation of the SDGs as “an important contribution”.
The EU Council recalls its conclusions adopted in April in response to the Commission's discussion paper ‘Towards a sustainable Europe by 2030’ in which it stressed that accelerating the implementation of the SDGs should be an absolute priority for the future of Europe (see EUROPE 12273/4). It stressed the “need for a concise, comprehensive, forward-looking and compelling political declaration that strengthens the momentum for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs”.
While delivering a win to the EU and its Member States for their “collective contribution of the EU and its Member States to the implementation of all SDGs across the world”, it underlines the need to strengthen synergies between 2030 Agenda, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Paris Climate Agreement and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
Among the European advances that the EU Council boasts are “enhanced efforts to reach those in extreme poverty and to tackle all forms of inequality”, the promotion of peace, security and stability, the defence of democracy, human rights, good governance, the rule of law, progress on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, support for the fight against climate change and adaptation and environmental protection.
According to the EU Council, “progress needs to be accelerated”. It therefore calls on the EU and its Member States to: – better adapt their support strategies to the needs of partner countries through policy dialogue on the SDGs, taking into account common interests and priorities and building on national development plans; – assist partner countries to integrate the SDGs and climate objectives into their strategies, policies, budgets, financial frameworks and national reports; – work better together through joint programming, joint implementation and common results frameworks; – further develop reporting systems demonstrating the impact of the EU and its Member States on the implementation of the SDGs; and – step up efforts to strengthen statistical capacity in developing countries. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)