How EU enlargement could affect SDG implementation for the “sleeping beauty”

Brussels – The European Union is facing a major dual challenge on the path to implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). On one hand, it must reverse the slowdown in progress that has occurred in recent years. On the other, it must address the potential impact of enlargement to countries that are struggling even more to align with the 2030 objectives.

“The agenda is under threat,” warned Guillaume Lafortune, Vice President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), during a press meeting at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) headquarters in Brussels. While the SDGs, “both in principle and in reality, are good,” there are issues with “leadership, institutions, and cooperation,” he noted. As a result, “progress has stalled since 2020,” particularly with regard to Goals 2 (Zero Hunger), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), 14 (Life Below Water), and 15 (Life on Land).”

The latest report published by SDSN shows that the pace of SDG progress in Europe during the 2020-2023 period is more than twice as slow (+0.8 points) compared to the 2016-2019 period (+1.9 points). While EU Member States continue to lead the SDG Index, the European Union—referred to as “the sleeping beauty” by Lafortune—”has to wake up.” Above all, “the Green Deal must remain the guiding vision for the future” to address ongoing environmental and biodiversity challenges, particularly those related to sustainable food and land systems.

As the report highlights, Northern European countries continue to lead the rankings, while other regions struggle to match their performance. Southern Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Baltic States are projected to take 19, 23, and 27 years, respectively, to align. Another challenge, however, emerges when considering the risks to Europe’s SDG implementation: the enlargement to new countries aiming to join the EU.

A simple linear extrapolation suggests that the pace of convergence of candidate countries remains rather slow, with an estimated 66 years required to align with the average performance of Northern Europe’s average performance in sustainable development. The indicators show that all the goals—except Goal 10 (Reduced Inequalities)—face ‘significant’ of ‘major’ challenges, while progress is either ‘stagnating’ or ‘decreasing’ (only a few are ‘moderately increasing’).

“Enlargement will have a positive impact on the European Union’s strategic autonomy and represents a historic opportunity to implement the SDGs by adapting current legislation,” Peter Schmidt, President of the EESC NAT Section, told The New Union Post during the press briefing in Brussels. However, discussing the need to transform the agri-food system, Schmidt warned that “the Common Agricultural Policy, as it stands, is not ready to meet this challenge—it is simply math.”

The EU is running out of time, as “we have only five years left to implement the 2030 Agenda, and sustainable food systems are a crucial driver of SDG implementation,” Schmidt emphasised. While enlargement also poses significant challenges in this area, “we need more ambitious mechanisms” to safeguard the livelihoods of farmers, small-scale food producers, and other stakeholders, tackle “unfair distribution” in the supply chain, and ensure a just transition,” he concluded.