European Economic
and Social Committee
NEWS ON OUR ACTIVITIES: Civil Society Organisations’ Group hosts event as part of the Festival for Sustainable Development
Relaunching European global leadership by bringing together competitiveness, sustainability and civil society participation: this was the theme of the second stage of the Festival for Sustainable Development, held for the first time in Brussels, entitled 'European leadership for the future: Civil society driving the post 2030 agenda'.
Hosted by the Civil Society Organisations' Group of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), on the eve of Europe Day celebrations on 8 May, the event was attended by Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, Teresa Ribera, Directors-General of the Commission, representatives of social partners and leading European think tanks.
The event, promoted by the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS ETS), took place at a delicate moment for the future of the Union: in response to current poly-crises, Europe, rather than accelerating, risks slowing down precisely on the ecological and social transition mapped out by the Green Deal and the European Pillar of Social Rights, despite the continued declarations by European leaders in favour of implementing the 2030 Agenda signed at the United Nations in 2015.
The meeting opened with a presentation by Enrico Giovannini, Scientific Director of ASviS, of data compiled by the Alliance on the state of sustainable development in the European Union.
Since 2010, three Sustainable Development Goals have seen deterioration at European level: reduced inequalities (Goal 10), protection of terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity (Goal 15), and partnerships for sustainable development (Goal 17). The picture regarding inequalities is particularly critical: 23 European countries are recording a worsening, three remain broadly stable, and only one shows a slight improvement. Even more stark is the situation regarding biodiversity, with all EU member states falling behind compared to 2010. Positive signals are emerging on certain Goals, particularly on gender equality, where 21 European countries show significant improvements, as well as in the areas of clean energy, innovation and climate action. Overall, only 10 of the 19 quantitative European targets analysed (53%) appear achievable by 2030, while seven (37%) are experiencing delays significant enough to make their attainment unlikely without a strong acceleration of European policies.
The data shows that the EU is the world champion of sustainable development. Precisely because of global instability, it must place the ecological transition and social justice, positive drivers of competitiveness, back at the heart of its policies. But the involvement of civil society must also be relaunched,
said Giovannini and added: The Spring 2026 Report, which we presented at the opening of the Festival on 6 May in Milan calls for the need to move from incremental progress to genuine systemic transformation, capable of combining economic growth, ecological transition, democratic quality and social cohesion.
Cillian Lohan, President of the Civil Society Organisations’ Group, said: Urged the European Commission to put the European Green Deal back at the top of its agenda. 'European civil society stands ready to do its utmost to relaunch the EU's sustainable agenda and to encourage the European Commission, once again, to take the lead. This agenda was the right compass in 2019, and it is even more so today. It promotes high social and environmental standards and acts as a powerful firewall for democracy, while also supporting economic growth. Civil society must relentlessly forge alliances to enable the EU to lead the way in shaping the post-2030 agenda.
Mariana Kotzeva, Director-General of Eurostat, spoke about the role of Eurostat and European official statistics in monitoring EU progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. She highlighted the importance of clear and easily understandable communication of Eurostat’s annual SDG Report through interactive tools and visualisations. Ms Kotzeva said: The civil society has played a vital role in designing the EU SDG indicator set and in using statistical evidence for driving public debates on the 2030 Agenda
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In the course of the debate on European policies, Mario Nava, Director-General of the DG for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion at the European Commission, stressed that Competitiveness, sustainability and social fairness can and must go together: clean technologies, efficient resource use and strong social standards all make Europe more resilient. Civil society helps shape solutions that work for European businesses, workers and communities
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Subsequent debates involved different institutional and civil society representatives. They focused on the need for the EU to place sustainable development back at the centre of its policies.
The event was moderated by Donato Bendicenti (RAI Chief Correspondent from Brussels), was also attended by Luca Jahier (Former EESC President and member of the EESC Civil Society Organisations’ Group), Lidija Pavić-Rogošić (Vice-President of the EESC Civil Society Organisations’ Group), Maria Nikolopoulou (President of the SDG Observatory of the EESC), Ingeborg Niestroy (Stakeholder Forum and SDG Watch Europe), Andrea Renda (Director of Research, CEPS), Francesco Tramontin (Vice President Global Public Affairs, Ferrero), Elena Avenati (Private Sector and SDGs Manager, Save the Children), Karl Falkenberg (President EU Chapter of the Club of Rome) and Patrizia Heidegger (Deputy Secretary-General, of the European Environmental Bureau).
For more information on the event, visit the EESC’s website at: https://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/agenda/our-events/events/european-leadership-future-civil-society-driving-post-2030-agenda
Watch the video of Cillian Lohan recorded during the event at: https://x.com/i/status/2052797948610650250 and a wrap-up video of the conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOYBVA9R9yY
Read the full Press Release at: https://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/news-media/news/second-stage-10th-edition-festival-sustainable-development-held-brussels