On Wednesday 13 of September, President Juncker delivered his State of the Union (SOTEU) 2017 address. Just like last year, his speech made no mention of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This is despite the fact that the EU has endorsed and, at least in theory, is committed to implement this ambitious and overarching agenda. […]
Read more Two years after signing up to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the EU still has no clear plan on how to achieve them and the clock is ticking. Outside the European Commission building this morning a massive inflatable elephant will remind President Jean Claude Juncker that he cannot continue to ignore sustainability. Embracing the SDGs […]
Read more In April 2017 European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker presented a White Paper on the Future of Europe, including five possible scenarios for discussion at European and Member State levels. In response, SDG Watch Europe in collaboration with Friends of the Earth Europe has facilitated the development of an alternative ‘6th Scenario’ that has been backed […]
Read more On June 20, 2017, the European Council adopted its Conclusions on “A sustainable European future: The EU response to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. SDG Watch Europe welcomes the Conclusions and calls on the European Commission to now match the ambition of the Member States and begin implementing the necessary steps to achieve the 2030 […]
Read more Europe faces multiple challenges, which need to be responded to by means of EU policies and financial rules alike. Unemployment, social inequalities and migration (perceived to be the top three challenges for the EU by its citizens), growing euroscepticism and the erosion of European values, the ecological and climate crises, which undermine human well-being, the […]
Read more SDG Watch Europe welcomes the European Economic and Social Committee’s (EESC) recommendations on the implementation of the SDGs in and by the EU. The Various Interest Group has published the recommendations after its recent conference “The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: a new frontier of rights and progress for the EU” to which several members of […]
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SDG Watch Europe was present at the recent conference hosted in Brussels by the European Economic and Social Council (EESC) called ” the UN Agenda for Sustainable Development-a new frontier of rights and progress for the EU”. Speakers included Christian Friis Bach, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe ( UNECE), Celina Charveriat […]
Read more Results of the stakeholder survey designed by SDG Watch Europe. Highlights from the 314 stakeholder responses The great majority of the respondents (95.8%) agrees or strongly agrees with the question statement, that the EU budget should be a key driver for a more sustainable future for Europe. When elaborating how the new EU Budget cycle […]
Read more SDG Watch Europe is putting forward eight sustainability principles to ensure coherence in the future internal and external EU spending and to put sustainability at the heart of the European project. We call on the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council to integrate these principles from the very beginning of the financial […]
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SDG Watch Europe members attended the first CSO Regional Forum that took place at the UN in Geneva on April 24th 2017. The CSO Forum took place on the day before the official Regional Review of Agenda 2030 by UNECE Member States to establish the progress made to date on implementing Agenda 2030 in the region. Civil society present […]
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