20/06/2019 10:12 h.
Towards a Sustainable Future: Time for Bold and Courageous Political Leadership
On May 27, the organization SDG Watch Europe issued a statement that calls on the newly elected Members of the European Parliament and the future political leadership in the Commission to refocus on the core European values – democracy and transparency, social and environmental justice, human rights, the rule of law, equality, and solidarity.
They ask for all European policies and rules to be guided by the overarching objective of ensuring well-being and health within planetary boundaries, of enhancing equality, of upholding safety and freedom for people and protecting the climate and the environment to serve present and future generations in and outside Europe.
Citizens of the European Union have voted for a new political leadership, and the turnout was higher than at any time in the past 25 years. This high turnout and the overwhelming support for strongly pro-European and progressive parties shows that the people of Europe value unity and peace and desire European policies with climate change, environmental protection and overcoming inequalities at their heart. The results clearly show that voters wish to the rapid implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the UN’s 2030 Agenda with its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The new Commission needs to show bold and courageous political leadership. It needs to answer to both a growing number of people across the Union expressing their concern about the state of the planet and our societies, but also to re-build the lost trust in the EU and its institutions.
SDG Watch Europe calls on the new European Commission to start working immediately on an overarching Sustainable Development Strategy which will act as the compass for all European policies, to present an action plan with clear timelines and targets to implement the SDGs, and to make the new European budget fully sustainability-proof. For more information, click here.
