Multimedia

External event

Seminar

From shared vision to common action: Realising the SDGs in the EU’s External Activities

More than a year after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the call for an overarching EU strategy for implementing the 2030 Agenda is growing louder. But while there is still uncertainty about how the EU is going to answer this call in particular with regard to its internal dimension, the implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the EU’s external activities is advancing. With the integration of the SDGs in the EU’s Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy and with the ongoing Revision of the European Consensus on Development, the EU has set clear signals. In its Global Strategy, the EU promises a “joined-up” approach in its different policy fields, thereby underlining the integrated character of the SDGs. Furthermore, on 14 September 2016, the European Commission proposed a European External Investment Plan (EEIP) to contribute to the achievement of the SGDs in cooperation with the private sector. The EEIP would bring together different European programmes in a single coherent framework and promises a comprehensive approach to risk sharing instruments for investors.

Together with representatives from the EU and the European Parliament, as well as with experts from non-European countries and from civil society, we would like to assess the EU’s activities so far and the next steps to be taken.