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European Union’s progress report-2019 on sustainable development

Eugene Eteris, European Studies Faculty, RSU, BC International Editor, Copenhagen, 22.07.2019.

Sustainability includes circular and bio-economy, sustainable food systems, “greening” energy as well as new trends in structural economies: from horizontal policy tools to education and digitisation to finance and taxation. Modern societies are already within a sustainable transition path by integrating the SDGs into their economic governance; the Baltic States shall be more active in taking the lead…

The EU and the member states have been worked collectively on implementation of all UN Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs since 2015. They are learning from past lessons, adapting to new circumstances and innovating in their national and international cooperation.

The EU institutions and the member states are strongly committed to deliver on the UN-2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which is as a shared global roadmap for a prosperous growth with well-being as the main task.

In September 2015, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all.

More on SDGs in: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300

The EU efforts

In January 2019, the European Commission presented a reflection paper “Towards a sustainable Europe by 2030” which showed the EU states’ progress made in implementing SDGs and identified the necessary priorities in moving forward. The priorities included: - developing a fully circular economy, - creating a sustainable food system, - steps to “greening energy”, mobility and the built environment, and gearing all our horizontal policy tools, from education and digitisation to finance and taxation, towards the sustainability transition.

The reflection paper highlights that there is no sustainability without social sustainability, which is why it is of fundamental importance to ensure that the sustainability transition is socially fair, for the benefit of all and leaving no one behind.

More on reflection paper in: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-701_en.htm

At least two commissioners are responsible for SDGs in the EU: thus, first Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans noticed that the UN-2030 Agenda is both a comprehensive plan for creating truly green economies and an “instrument” for increasing well-being. He added that the EU institutions and the member states are strengthening their collective effort to translate the SDGs into concrete actions that can be measured and monitored. In the next five years the European Commission will try to fully integrate the SDGs into the member states’ economic governance and the EU’s development model.

Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica added that the EU member states are already at the forefront of adopting the 2030 Agenda and making it a reality. Working in partnership with developing countries within the multilateral system, the EU can accelerate progress towards sustainable development.

Commissioner for Environment, Maritime affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella said that a shared, prosperous and sustainable future for all can only be achieved by knitting together the social, economic and environmental dimensions in the member states’ developmental policies. He also added that the transition to ecologically sustainable economic growth and competitiveness could be only successful if it promotes social rights and well-being for all.

The European Union has already embarked on a transition towards a low-carbon economy as providing for the climate neutral, resource-efficient and circular growth while ensuring social equality and inclusiveness. The EU has also put the SDGs at the heart of its external action and has aligned all development activities with UN-2030 Agenda through its new European Consensus on Development.

However, many sustainability challenges have become increasingly pressing, and new ones have emerged, putting human well-being, economic prosperity, our society and our environment at risk. To accelerate the achievement of the ambitious and interlinked SDGs, the EU highlights its commitment to systematically review the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and follow-up respectively.

More on EU consensus on development in: https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/policies/european-development-policy/european-consensus-development_en

Horizontal SDG-policy’s approach

As the reflection paper on “sustainable EU towards 2030” suggested, the horizontal enablers, which need to underpin the sustainability transition, including education, science, technology, research, innovation and digitisation; finance, pricing, taxation and competition; responsible business conduct, corporate social responsibility and new business models; open and rules-based trade; governance and policy coherence at all levels. The paper emphases the importance of blazing the trail for the sustainability transition globally as the world regional policies will only have a limited impact on the planet if other partners pursue opposing policies.

Besides, the paper revealed three scenarios to stimulate the discussion on how to follow up on the Sustainable Development Goals in the EU states. These scenarios are illustrative: they aim to offer different ideas and spur debate and thinking; the Commission asserted that an eventual outcome would be a combination of certain elements from each.

The three scenarios are:

1. An overarching EU SDGs strategy guiding the actions of the EU institutions and those of the member states;

2. A continued mainstreaming of the SDGs in all relevant EU policies by the Commission, though not enforcing the member states' actions;

3. An enhanced focus on external action while consolidating current sustainability ambition at the EU and the states’ level.

Reference: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-701_en.htm

The EU’s first implementation report

On 25 September 2015, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda, the "2030 Agenda". Each of the 17 goals has specific targets (169 targets in total) to be achieved by 2030. The EU was a leading force behind the adoption of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals.

In November 2016, the Commission adopted a Communication to the EU institutions on the “Next steps for a sustainable European future” in response to the 2030 Agenda. The Communication presented a picture of the EU’s efforts in contributing to the 2030 Agenda by highlighting key EU policies for each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals; it also explained how the Commission’s 10 priorities for 2014-19 could contribute to the 2030 global agenda.

The Communication mentioned some financial assistance through the EU funds: European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF): the three cohesion policy funds (i.e. the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund (CF) and the European Social Fund (ESF)), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).

More on the “next steps” in: https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/sites/devco/files/communication-next-steps-sustainable-europe-20161122_en.pdf

In September 2017, the Commission President announced a reflection paper entitled 'Towards a Sustainable Europe by 2030' on the follow-up to the Sustainable Development Goals and on the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

More in: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-701_en.htm

The first officially presented “Joint Synthesis Report on the implementation of the European Consensus on Development” (18.07.2019) shows how the EU institutions and the member states have advanced sustainable development through their development cooperation with partner countries, whilst strengthening their cooperation with the UN and other multilateral organisations, civil society and the private sector.

The report, for instance, underlines significant progress in helping reducing extreme poverty through more joint-up EU action, in promoting gender equality, and in improving health services for millions of people across the world. It also highlights that the EU contributed over 20 bn EUR in 2017 alone to support developing countries in their efforts to tackle and adapt to climate change. EU support to sustainable energy is on course to achieving energy access for about 40 mln people, with annual CO2 emissions savings of around 15 million tons.

The ‘Eurostat Monitoring Report on progress towards the SDGs in an EU context' is a key tool for evaluating how the EU and the member states have been advancing on the SDGs, helping also to highlight the cross-cutting and interconnected nature of the SDGs.

On the Eurostat report on SDGs in: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/de/web/products-statistical-books/-/KS-04-17-780

Monitoring SDG progress in: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3217494/8461633/KS-04-17-780-EN-N.pdf/f7694981-6190-46fb-99d6-d092ce04083f

The 2019 EU report on Policy Coherence for Development showcases EU's progress on formulating policies which take into account from the outset the impacts on developing countries, a central aspect to the effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

On policy coherence for development in: https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/news-and-events/2019-eu-report-policy-coherence-development_en.

Additional on “coherence” in: https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/policies/policy-coherence-development_en.

More on Joint synthesis report in: https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/supporting-sustainable-development-goals-across-world-2019-joint-synthesis-report-european-union-and_en

Present first joint “synthesis” report is mainly a document to reaffirm the EU and the states’ commitment to implement the UN-2030 Agenda, in partnership with developing countries and other partners. The report also summarized actions fulfilled while confirming states’ determination to work together for a prosperous, sustainable and peaceful world.

More information in the following web-links:

-Factsheet;

- Joint Synthesis Report;

- The EU and the Sustainable Development Goals webpage;

- UN High Level Political Forum (HLPF);

- 2019 EU report on Policy Coherence for Development.

Source: Commission press release “European Union presents its progress towards sustainable development”, Brussels, 18 July 2019, in:

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-4250_en.htm?locale=en