The Sustainable Development Goals must be achieved in all countries - including Europe

Sustainable development was on the agenda when Prime Minister of Norway, Mrs. Erna Solberg, held a speech and took part in a panel debate in the European Parliament on 7 June.

The panel consisted of members of the UN Sustainable Development Goals Advocates, a group led by Solberg and Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo.

Members of the European Parliament's Development Committee and Environment Committee were present during the session, which was led by the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani.

European development days
Solberg visited Brussels to take part in the European Development Days (EDD), Europe's leading forum on development and international cooperation.

The EDD took place in Brussels on the 7th and 8th of June, and gathered over 6000 international leaders, practitioners, policy and decision-makers, as well as various development organizations.

At the opening ceremony of the EDD, Solberg stated in her speech that it is in all countries' interest to fight climate change, epidemics, violent extremism and world conflicts.

As co-chair of the SDG Advocacy Group, the Prime Minister has a special commitment to raise people's awareness and commitment to the global goals.

Discussed global efforts
On the same day, Solberg participated in a meeting with representatives from the SDG Advocacy Group, the UN, EU institutions, and Belgian authorities to discuss global efforts to promote the SDGs. Queen Mathilde of Belgium, who is also a member of the advocacy group, hosted the meeting.

The SDGs were adopted in September 2015 by 193 countries. After a decade, most countries have strategies and procedures in place and report annually on their efforts to the UN Economic and Social Committee.

Given the EU's overall economical strength, the strategy of the EU as an intuition combined with the work of the 28 member states will be decisive for global achievement.

EU signed a joint declaration on development
Prime Minister Solberg was also present when the EU leaders, President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani, President of the European Council Jean Claude Juncker and Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini, signed a new “European Consensus on Development".

The policy statement is a shared vision and framework for action for development cooperation for the EU and its Member States. Read more about it here.