EESC delegation at the High level Political Forum in New York, July 2023

As the advisory body representing Europe's organized civil society, the EESC has actively been engaging for years in the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) to advocate for the voice of European citizens and promote sustainable development policies aligned with the EU's priorities.

This year, the EESC participated with a delegation comprising the EESC and NAT presidents. It contributed to the official presentation of the first EU Voluntary Review, co-organised a side event with the Commission on "Delivering the SDGs: revitalized partnership with the EU" and held several bilateral meetings with Major Group representatives and UN officials including the UN Secretary general Antonio Guterres.

The mission was an opportunity for the EESC to re-iterate the key messages from its contribution to the EU Voluntary Review, namely:

• we need to ensure policy coherence and a comprehensive strategy on the SDGs to improve synergies across policy areas and tools. Governments and institutions, as well as financial institutions, need to speak the same language and align messages in the different international and regional fora. Promoting policy coherence for sustainable development is vital for the agenda to advance in the right direction.
• we need and want the EU to invest in SDG credibility and lead international efforts to accelerate SDG implementation. This is clearly a way to protect our democratic values and to "stand up for democracy".  Geopolitics has become more complex since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda and fake news and disinformation are spreading. It is not only the SDGs that are at stake, but our democracy at large.
• In these testing times, we need more than ever a structured involvement of civil society in policy making.  Civil society's support in gathering the voices of European citizens is crucial. Building on its meaningful contribution to the EU VR, the EESC stands ready to play its role as a "convening space" for civil society also in the future.   
• the people and the planet cannot afford another lost decade. With only seven years to go to 2030, the world needs to be steered in the right direction. We need to truly engage in transformational shifts and bring everyone along in this journey.  It is not a task to be left to future generations, nor a job to be left to incoming Governments. It is the task of today. It is the task of those that hold responsibility at this precise moment. There is no time to lose.