The role of the Environment Council in the greening of the ‘European Semester’, the economic policy coordination budgetary process that is now aligned with the European Green Deal, will be on the agenda at the European environment ministers’ meeting on Thursday 5 March.
On Wednesday 19 February, the Permanent Representatives of the Member States to the European Union (Coreper) approved the framework for the exchange of views, which will be steered by a questionnaire from the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the EU. The exchange of views is an outcome of the realignment of the budgetary year to take a long-term perspective, as set out in the annual strategy for sustainable growth, published by the European Commission on 17 December 2019.
In the knowledge that the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be included in the ‘European Semester’ for the first time, ministers will be invited to answer the following questions:
- How can the reinforced sustainability dimension of the European Semester contribute to achieving the SDGs while maintaining its focus on macroeconomic policies?
- In order to ensure the consistency of policy instruments in the context of the Green Deal and avoid duplication, how should SDG monitoring be streamlined?
In a briefing note for ministers, the Croatian Presidency highlights the fact that the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy has replaced the Annual Growth Review and may be seen as a paradigm shift in EU economic policy, as it stresses that economic growth is not an end in itself and that an economy must work for the people and the planet. The Croatian Presidency views this change as a victory for what the Environment Council has always been striving to achieve.
The Presidency points out that, according to the latest report by the European Environment Agency on the state of the environment and its future prospects, “Europe is facing four major environmental crises: the climate crisis, the biodiversity crisis, the resource crisis and the pollution crisis. All of these crises entail risks for the environment, our health and our well-being” (see EUROPE 12384/11, 12383/8).
While the ‘European Semester’ is still a useful tool for economic and social policy coordination, there is recognition that the economic agenda must transform the Union into a sustainable economy by helping the EU and its Member States to achieve the 17 SDGs.
The Croatian Presidency believes it is it essential to assess how to integrate all of the SDGs, and not simply the ones with macroeconomic importance, without undermining the effectiveness of the ‘European Semester’.
It believes that it is just as important to ensure that SDG compliance monitoring is consistent with current monitoring mechanisms, such as the Environmental Implementation Review (EIR), the tool used to help improve each Member State’s environmental performance, and the new instruments in the Green Deal, so that potential overlaps and additional administrative burdens can be avoided. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)