Brussels, 19/03/2003 (Agence Europe) - On the eve of the European Council in Brussels, the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), the Platform of European Social NGOs, and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) are pressing the fifteen Heads of State and Government to give real impetus to sustainable development, "practising what the Union preaches" to reach the objectives set in Lisbon and Göteborg. "Lasting peace and security can only be secured if, next to respect for human rights and democracy, global and regional policies are implemented to guarantee social cohesion, jobs and quality of life within an environmentally sustainable context", they aver in a joint declaration published on Tuesday.
Speaking as champions of the three constituent pillars of sustainable development, and with the support of millions of the citizens they represent, the three organisations are asking the European Council to take on board the following concrete proposals: (1) As ecological and economic inequalities reinforce each other, impeding sustainable development, a broader quality-oriented economic development should replace a narrower orientation, limited to economic growth; (2) The European Council should adopt a new approach to political decision-making, otherwise it will be impossible to take environmental and social concerns into account. This new approach would base decisions on forecasting, taking economic, social and environmental effects on board; (3) The Summit should call upon Member States to establish sustainable development plans and to report back on them to the European Spring Council every year with respect to the main objectives of sustainability; (4) The European Council should make sure that public investment works for sustainability, by promoting programmes which include social and environmental objectives; (5) The European Council should ensure that the Union allocates sufficient financial resources to the candidate countries to support a sustainable social and economic infrastructure, combined with social and environmental investment.