The report by MEPs Barry Andrews (Renew Europe, Ireland) and Petros Kokkalis (The Left, Greece) on the implementation and achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals was adopted by the European Parliament by 430 votes to 56 with 67 abstentions, on Thursday 23 June.
In this non-legislative resolution, adopted ahead of the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (New York, 13-15 July), the Parliament calls on the EU to take the implementation of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) seriously and to provide itself with the means to do so, in particular through better governance (see EUROPE 12964/21).
The MEPs consider that the EU faces major challenges in areas such as sustainable food systems, clean and affordable energy, agriculture, climate and biodiversity.
In order to achieve policy coherence on these issues and to stimulate urgent action, they want the European Commission to adopt a high-level strategy for the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda.
They recommend that the EU make the implementation of the SDGs - both internally and externally - a key priority in all its policies.
The European Commission is invited to appoint a Special Envoy for the SDGs, a position that would be accountable to the Commissioner responsible for the SDGs and would promote coherent action at the global level through the EU’s external action.
Parliament also insists that adequate funding be provided and that the EU meet its target of allocating at least 20% of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to human development. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)