Council of the European Union adopted conclusions ”Towards an ever more sustainable Union by 2030”, at its meeting held on 9 April 2019 in Luxemburg.
The Council stresses that the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals is essential to our world for ensuring a peaceful and secure life for the current and next generations while respecting the limits of our planet, by upholding democracy, human rights and gender equality, protecting the climate and the environment, building modern, dynamic, and inclusive economies, improving living standards, and narrowing inequalities, so that no one is left behind.
The Council stresses that, four years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, there is a strong and urgent need to shift to a comprehensive, overarching and ambitious approach at EU level, which builds upon elements of the scenarios presented in the Commission’s Reflection Paper, in order to swiftly, thoroughly and vigorously achieve the SDGs by 2030.
One the conclusion urges that the main policy foundations for a sustainable future include a decisive transition towards a circular economy, including non-toxic material cycles, striving for climate neutrality, in line with Paris Agreement, protecting biodiversity and ecosystems, tackling climate change, the sustainability of the agriculture and food systems, as well as safe and sustainable low carbon energy, buildings and mobility sectors, while fostering European cohesion. The Council also urges that the social dimension be strengthened in order to promote inclusion, equality, including gender equality, and a socially fair transition, in line with the European Pillar of Social Rights, while ensuring that EU’s common values, including democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights are safeguarded.
