—

having regard to the United Nations resolution entitled ‘Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’, adopted at the UN Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September 2015 in New York,

—

having regard to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to the Paris Agreement, adopted at the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) in Paris on 12 December 2015, and to the submission of 6 March 2015 by Latvia and the European Commission to the UNFCCC of the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) of the EU and its Member States,

—

having regard to the Third International Conference on Financing for Development held in Addis Ababa from 13 to 16 July 2015,

—

having regard to regard to Article 208 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),

—

having regard to Article 7 of the TFEU, which reaffirms that the EU ‘shall ensure consistency between its policies and activities, taking all of its objectives into account’,

—

having regard to the Joint Declaration of the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission of 7 June 2017 entitled ‘New European Consensus on Development — “Our world, our dignity, our future”’ (1),

—

having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions of 22 November 2016 entitled “Next steps for a sustainable European future — European action for sustainability”(COM(2016)0739);

—

having regard to the Commission Reflection Paper entitled “Towards a Sustainable Europe by 2030”, published on 30 January 2019,

—

having regard to the high-level multi-stakeholder platform on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and to its joint contribution of 11 October 2018, which recommends that the EU develop and implement an overarching visionary and transformative Sustainable Europe 2030 strategy, to guide all EU policies and programmes, including both interim and long-term targets, and lay out the EU’s vision for a sustainable Europe beyond the 2030 Agenda,

—

having regard to the 2019 EU Report on Policy Coherence for Development, published on 28 January 2019,

—

having regard to the General Union Environment Action Programme to 2020 entitled “Living well, within the limits of our planet” (2),

—

having regard to its resolution of 19 May 2015 on Financing for Development (3),

—

having regard to its resolution of 12 May 2016 on the follow-up to and review of the 2030 Agenda (4),

—

having regard to its resolution of 7 June 2016 on the EU 2015 Report on Policy Coherence for Development (5),

—

having regard to its resolution of 22 November 2016 on increasing the effectiveness of development cooperation (6),

—

having regard to its resolution of 6 July 2017 on EU action for sustainability (7),

—

having regard to its resolution of 14 March 2018 on the European Semester for economic policy coordination: Annual Growth Survey 2018 (8),

—

having regard to its resolution of 3 July 2018 on violation of the rights of indigenous peoples in the world, including land grabbing (9),

—

having regard to the Council conclusions of 20 June 2017 on the EU response to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (10502/17),

—

having regard to the European Commission proposal of 30 May 2018 for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) (COM(2018)0382),

—

having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights,

—

having regard to the joint statement of 20 November 2018 between the World Health Organisation and the European Parliament entitled “United to accelerate progress to health related Sustainable Development Goals — leaving no one behind”,

—

having regard to Eurostat’s 2018 monitoring report on progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals in an EU context,

—

having regard to the Europe 2020 strategy,

—

having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee of 19 September 2018 entitled “Indicators better suited to evaluate the SDGs — the civil society contribution”,

—

having regard to the European Council conclusions of 18 October 2018 (EUCO 13/18) stating that the EU and its Member States are fully committed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its implementation, and in which the European Council welcomed the intention of the Commission to publish its Reflection Paper in 2018, calling for it to pave the way for a comprehensive implementation strategy in 2019;

—

having regard to the EU priorities at the United Nations and the 73rd United Nations General Assembly (September 2018 — September 2019), adopted by the Council on 25 June 2018,

—

having regard to the contribution of the multi-stakeholder platform on Sustainable Development Goals to the Commission Reflection Paper entitled “Towards a Sustainable Europe by 2030”, released on 12 October 2018,

—

having regard to the Global Compact for Migration and the Global Compact on Refugees of 2018,

—

having regard to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, adopted by UN Member States at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction on 18 March 2015,

—

having regard to the joint communiqué between the European Union and the United Nations of 27 September 2018 entitled “A renewed partnership in development” (10),

—

having regard to the joint communiqué released following the Third African Union-European Union-United Nations Trilateral Meeting, held in New York on 23 September 2018 (11),

—

having regard to the Joint EU — UN Press Statement of 23 September 2018 (12),

—

having regard to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure,

—

having regard to the joint deliberations of the Committee on Development and the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety under Rule 55 of the Rules of Procedure,

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Development and the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (A8-0160/2019),

A.

whereas the 2030 Agenda has the potential to be transformative and sets out universal, ambitious, comprehensive, indivisible and interlinked goals, aimed at eradicating poverty, fighting growing inequalities and discrimination, promoting prosperity, sustainability, environmental responsibility, social inclusion, gender equality and respect for human rights, ensuring economic, social and territorial cohesion and strengthening peace and security; whereas immediate action, at all levels, together with an effective European implementation strategy, monitoring and review mechanism are essential to the achievement of the SDGs;

B.

whereas the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs represent an ambitious vision for a more prosperous, inclusive and resilient world; whereas the 2030 Agenda is based on the Union’s core values of democracy, participation, good governance, social justice, solidarity, sustainability and respect for the rule of law and human rights, within the EU, its Member States and around the globe; whereas striving to achieve the SDGs therefore naturally follows the Union’s plans to build a better, healthier and more sustainable future for Europe, which should be among the EU’s strategic priorities;

C.

whereas the 2030 Agenda and the achievement of the SDGs represent a challenge; whereas the 17 goals and 169 targets require coordination between the EU and its Member States, the European Parliament, national parliaments and regional and local authorities, as well as a multi-level governance approach, also based on active and broad-based public, civil society and private sector engagement;

D.

whereas the involvement of social partners has been instrumental in the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs from the beginning, promoting the inclusion of priorities such as decent work, the fight against inequalities and civil society participation; whereas their active participation in the review process of the progress and implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs is key;

E.

whereas the Commission has not yet established a comprehensive strategy to implement the 2030 Agenda encompassing EU internal and external policy areas with detailed timelines up to 2030, objectives and concrete measures, as requested by Parliament, the Council and the European Council, nor has it included the SDGs as an overarching framework in the revised Better Regulation Guidelines published in 2017; whereas common indicators and benchmarks are required in order to measure and to monitor systematically the implementation of such a strategy and to identify shortcomings, both now and in the future;

F.

whereas sustainability and the transition to a climate-neutral, circular and socially inclusive economy are key to ensuring the long-term growth and competitiveness of the EU, which will only be possible if the planetary boundaries are fully respected;

G.

whereas the European Consensus on Development recognises that Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) is a fundamental part of the EU’s contribution to achieving the SDGs and that sustainable development requires a holistic and cross-cutting policy approach, ultimately being an issue of governance which needs to be pursued in partnership with all stakeholders and at all levels; whereas an effective implementation of PCD is essential to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda;

H.

whereas the EU’s policy and governance framework already includes a certain number of binding and non-binding policy targets, benchmarks and indicators in fields such as the budget, social affairs, energy and climate, without consisting of a comprehensive, coherent and joined-up policy strategy;

I.

whereas the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development requires enhanced awareness among citizens;

J.

whereas ex-ante assessments and ex-post evaluations are crucial tools to ensure that EU policies do not have a negative impact on sustainable development, in particular on developing countries, and that their positive impact is maximised; whereas assessments and evaluations should be published in order to ensure full transparency and accountability;

K.

whereas the 2030 Agenda is a universal agenda that should be implemented in every country; whereas the principle of universality requires every country to consider the impact of its actions in relation to others, in order to ensure policy coherence for development, which, given the complexity and the fragmentation of EU policies, represents a great challenge for the Union;

L.

whereas the Commission is required, under the 7th Environment Action Programme (EAP), to assess the environmental impact, in a global context, of Union consumption of food and non-food commodities;

M.

whereas the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC) could play a strong role in the evidence-based aspects of monitoring and accountability as regards effectiveness principles for achieving the SDGs and in supporting their fuller implementation by all actors at national level; whereas the GPEDC should provide clearly defined channels for cooperation for specific development actors beyond OECD donors, including emerging donors, civil society organisations, private philanthropists, financial institutions and private-sector companies;

N.

whereas the financing of the SDGs poses an enormous challenge which not only demands a strong political commitment by the EU and its Member States, but also a strong global partnership and the use of all forms of financing (from domestic, international, public, private and innovative sources); whereas private financing is essential but should not substitute public funding;

O.

whereas achieving the SDGs depends not only on sufficient finance, but also on non-financial actions, as acknowledged in the 2030 Agenda;

P.

whereas effective mobilisation of domestic resources is an indispensable factor in achieving the aims of the 2030 Agenda; whereas developing countries are particularly affected by corporate tax evasion and tax avoidance;

Q.

whereas Article 208 of the TFEU stipulates that development cooperation policy shall have as its primary objective the reduction and, in the long term, the eradication of poverty;

R.

whereas the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) will meet at summit level, under the auspices of the UN General Assembly in September 2019, to take stock of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda as a whole, reviewing progress on all SDGs in a comprehensive manner, and at ministerial level in July 2019, to review progress on SDGs 4 (quality education), 8 (decent work and economic growth), 10 (reduced inequalities), 13 (climate action), 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) and 17 (partnerships for the goals), and annually thereafter in order to conduct progress reviews of the goals not reviewed under the 2019 thematic review;

S.

whereas the UN General Assembly summit on the SDGs provides an opportunity for the EU and its Member States to highlight their progress in advancing the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs in a comprehensive manner;

T.

whereas in the follow-up and review process of the 2030 Agenda at the UN, the EU has not always been united in its voting behaviour, particularly in the area of sexual and reproductive health and rights,

U.

whereas the HLPF provides an opportune space for the EU and its Member States to review their progress in advancing the 2030 Agenda through Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) and to play a leading role as the largest provider of Official Development Assistance (ODA) and as a driving force for sustainability and environmental policies; whereas these completed VNRs serve to assess SDG progress and flag present gaps and challenges;

V.

whereas ODA will play a crucial role in delivering on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — particularly in low-income countries and in fighting extreme poverty and inequality — if it respects the development effectiveness principles, namely country ownership, transparency and accountability, focus on results, and inclusiveness;

W.

whereas the principle of “leaving no one behind” is at the core of the 2030 Agenda; whereas in 2017 around 22,5 % of the EU population were at risk of poverty or social exclusion and 6,9 % of its population were still severely materially deprived (13); whereas inequalities have manifold social consequences, such as large differences in well-being and quality of life, including with regard to professional opportunities and healthcare;

X.

whereas there is a persistently high level of child poverty and social exclusion in the Union (26,4 % in 2017); whereas the European Pillar of Social Rights states that children have the right to protection from poverty and that children from disadvantaged backgrounds have the right to specific measures to enhance equal opportunities; whereas investing early in children yields significant returns for these children and society as a whole, and is crucial to breaking the vicious cycle of disadvantage in early years;

Y.

whereas over the past five years, the EU has made progress towards almost all SDGs, with seven of the EU-27 Member States among the top 10 in the Global SDG Index ranking, and whereas all EU-27 Member States are in the top 50 (out of 156) (14);whereas some Member States are already leading the implementation of the SDGs; whereas the EU nevertheless still lacks an implementation strategy for the SDGs;

Z.

whereas high and rising inequality between and within countries can have significant social and economic costs; whereas inequality is in clear contradiction to the objective of sustainable development;

AA.

whereas Better Regulation has been explicitly mentioned in a Commission communication as being another way to ensure the further mainstreaming of sustainable development in EU policies (15);

AB.

whereas the Commission staff working document of 19 July 2018 on Combatting HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis and tuberculosis in the European Union and Neighbouring countries (SWD(2018)0387) highlights the gaps and limitations in surveillance data for viral hepatitis which make it difficult to assess the distance that EU Member States need to cover in order to reach the SDG target;

AC.

whereas the Commission White Paper of 1 March 2017 on the future of Europe (COM(2017)2025) did not include sustainable development or the 2030 Agenda as a vision or narrative for the future of the EU;

AD.

whereas the UNICEF report entitled “Progress for Every Child in the SDG Era”, published in March 2018, found an alarming lack of data in 64 countries, as well as insufficient progress towards the SDGs in another 37 countries; whereas over half a billion children live in countries unable to measure SDG progress;

AE.

whereas decent work is the basis for fair and inclusive growth and a driver of development and social advancement; whereas along with social protection for those that cannot find a job or are unable to work, it addresses inequality and exerts a major pull on social and economic progress;

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