If EU commitment skips, UN Sustainable Development Goals will remain a mirage

Brussels – Only 16 per cent of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) drafted by the United Nations in Agenda 2030 are on track to be achieved. Six years after a historic date, the world has become mired in dangerous geopolitical tensions that have marked “a major setback for sustainable development in Europe and the world.” UN experts make a desperate appeal to the new European leadership: Reaffirming its commitment to implementing the 2030 Agenda “is historical responsibility and strategic interest.”

The data released today (Jan. 29) by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UNSDN) are merciless. More than a wake-up call—already resonated in recent years—a veritable siren call. The annual report that assesses progress in the 27 member states, the nine candidate countries, and the United Kingdom, reveals worrying steps backwards across the continent. “Over the past two years, progress in the EU has stalled,” warned Guillaume Lafortune, Vice-President of the SDSN, during a press briefing at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) headquarters in Brussels. In 2020–2023, progress was more than two times lower than in the previous three years.

The problem is that the European Union is the locomotive of a train that is losing power and is in real danger of taking other tracks. Globally, 19 of the 20 countries at the top of the SDG index are European countries. Particularly those in northern Europe: Finland is in first place for the fifth consecutive year, followed by Denmark, Sweden, Austria, and Norway. Meanwhile, the Baltic, Eastern European, and Mediterranean countries are trudging. Not to mention the nine accession candidates, which—albeit with improvements—would need 66 years to reach the top level of the class, according to SDSN projections.

Complicating the ambitious 2030 sustainable development plan is the war in Ukraine, “a huge distraction,” and new priorities arising from an increasingly aggressive geopolitical environment: competitiveness, defence, the race for critical raw materials and energy supply. Today, the European Commission presented the economic doctrine that will mark the next five years, the Competitiveness Compass, a clear paradigm shift from the Green Deal of Ursula von der Leyen’s first term. But the Green Deal “is the right goal,” Lafortune stressed again.

This year, the report is accompanied by a new study conducted in collaboration with the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), which offers insights into the impact that the transformation of the EU’s agrifood system could have in achieving some of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. In essence, the transition to healthier diets could have positive effects on several fronts. Not only related to SDG 2 (beating hunger) but also on health, climate mitigation, and biodiversity goals. “We have only five years ahead to implement the 2030 Agenda, and sustainable food systems are a crucial driver for implementing the SDGs. To accelerate action, we need more ambitious mechanisms to safeguard the livelihoods of farmers, small-scale food producers, and other stakeholders,” said Peter Schmidt, chair of the Agriculture and Rural Development Section of the EESC.

UN experts believe efforts can still be made to reverse the trend. Starting next June, when Spain—a European country—will host the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, a “key milestone for the EU and the world to increase and align international financing flows for sustainable development by 2030 and for decades to come.” Because, in the end, getting back on track requires money. And political will. Prominent in the report’s recommendations is the need to “collectively increase investment in clean energy and digital technologies now in the EU and lay the foundations for an ambitious investment strategy throughout the next decade, in particular through the adoption of an ambitious Clean Industrial Deal and a 2028–2035 multi-year financial framework.”

The meeting is in Seville, June 30 to July 3, 2025, “a crucial opportunity for the EU to continue its leadership” and to “support the unlocking of additional public and private capital for the achievement of sustainable development goals.”