Europe is at the crossroads of Sustainable Development
Brussels, 16 November 2016 – The European Union will not achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 14 years if it does not adopt an overall strategy. Without that strategy, the incoherencies of EU policies will make that impossible, given the integrated nature of the 2030 Agenda, shows the new CONCORD report on Sustainable Development, titled “Sustainable Development – The Stakes could not be higher”.
The EU urgently needs the courage and conviction to take a great leap towards a sustainable future, following good practice by some of its Member States such as Finland.
By adopting an ambitious overarching strategy for sustainable development and guiding European policies towards transformation, the EU and its Member States can make a real difference, for people in Europe and around the world.
The EU needs to address the incoherencies and challenge the power imbalances at stake. In many of its policies and practices, the EU negates progress towards Sustainable Development, like using development policy to curb irregular migration, prioritising Global Value Chains over local food security, or ignoring the true cost of GDP-growth for people and planet.
The CONCORD report titled “Sustainable Development – The Stakes could not be higher” analyses the EU’s implementation of the 2030 Agenda and Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development by looking into five facets of the EU policies, highlighting good practices, alarming cases and recommendations.
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CARTOON: Will the EU take the great leap?
MEDIA CONTACTS
For media enquiries contact Helene Debaisieux helene.debaisieux@concordeurope.org – 0032 (2) 743 87 93 – 0032 (0) 472 433 120 – CONCORD Communication Coordinator
For policy questions contact Lonne Poissonnier lonne.poissonnier@concordeurope.org – 0032 (2) 743 87 76 – CONCORD Policy and Advocacy Coordinator
NOTES TO EDITORS
CONCORD is the European confederation of relief and development NGOs. Its 28 national associations, 20 international networks and 3 associate members represent 2,600 non governmental organisations, supported by millions of citizens across Europe.
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