EESC info: Why the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) should be one of the key themes and activities of the future Commission?

Maria Nikolopoulou: These days are critical for the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as the 2023 SDG Summit taking place in September in New York aims to mark the beginning of a new phase in accelerating the implementation of the SDGs with high-level political guidance.

The lack of explicit mention of the implementation of the SDGs in President Ursula Von der Leyen's State of the Union speech on 13 September shows that the SDGs are not the driving force for change in the EU's policies. There is a certain "SDG washing". Instead of considering them as an umbrella that defines our actions for systemic change, we are just taking fragmented decisions and stating how they affect the implementation of specific goals.  

The incoming EU Commission should take the political commitment to implementing the SDGs seriously. Achieving the 2030 Agenda requires structural changes, innovative solutions, and collaboration among governments, civil society, businesses, and international organisations. We need a long-term transformative plan that will go beyond 2030. The EESC and other civil society organisations have been calling for an overarching strategy to implement the SDGs since the beginning. And this requires political courage and commitment not only to properly channel the available financial and human resources but also to restructure the way the administration works and to break silos.

We are experiencing unprecedented floods, drought and wildfires. We are witnessing how social inequalities are rising and with them social unrest and disdain for our current politicians and policy-makers. We are seeing how the big economic players are improving their market position and how it's getting harder and harder for the small ones to survive.  The implementation of the SDGs is the only reliable solution for all. Achieving the SDGs demands collective action, innovative solutions, and a renewed dedication to building a better world for current and future generations. We can't allow the uncertainty to govern our future!