European Commission

The decision by the European Commission to review the EU sustainable development strategy (EU SDS) has identified that unsustainable trends still persist and must be targeted.

Commission President, José Manuel Barroso said: "We have made solid progress on integrating sustainable development into EU policy areas. This review highlights the progress we have made over the last three years and the areas where further work is needed.

"The economic crisis creates a unique opportunity to create a new sustainable economy through smart green growth. I hope this review will stimulate reflection on how best to make progress on areas like energy consumption in the transport area, declining biodiversity and degradation of our ecosystem."

Despite finding areas with needs for improvement, the seven main priority areas covered by the strategy - climate change and clean energy, sustainable transport, sustainable consumption and production, conservation and management of natural resources, public health, social inclusion, demography and migration and global poverty - have all seen positive EU policy progress.

The strategy underlines that the EU has taken the lead in the fight against climate change and the promotion of a low-carbon economy, but at the same time highlights that unsustainable trends persist in many areas and the efforts need to be intensified. The review also examines EU policy measures in the areas covered by the EU SDS and looks ahead to its future.

An exploratory opinion on the future of the EU SDS is being prepared by the European Economic and Social Committee for autumn 2009. This combined with the active contribution of stakeholders, will ultimately lead to a future decision on whether to launch a comprehensive review of the EU SDS. This could result in a streamlined EU SDS with a more defined role, allowing it to focus on the areas where progress is most needed.
 

Last Updated: 18-08-2009 12:08:31 By Katherine Hitchcock