SDG Watch members from all over Europe met in Brussels on the 4th and 5th November for the SDG Watch Europe Annual General Assembly and the Civil Society Forum for Sustainability. Over 70 CSOs with an interest in just transition, participation, social justice, and climate environmental sustainability were present to deliberate on the future of the European Green Deal and to discuss and strategize on the SDGs and Agenda 2030.
Civil society strategize for 2024-2029
The AGA took place back-to-back with the Civil Society Forum, organized by SDG Watch Europe, EEB and SOLIDAR in the framework of the REAL DEAL project, a Horizon 2020 project on deliberative democracy and the European Green Deal (EGD). The forum provides a space for CSOs from across Europe to come together and exchange views on topics related to the European Green Deal and the SDGs.
On day one, CSOs met at the Elzenhof for a packed event on strategic priorities for civil society engagement within the upcoming 2024-2029 EU mandate. The panel, moderated by Hanna Gunnarrson of WECF, opened with reflections on the recent UN Summit of the Future. Ingo Ritz, Director of Global Call to Action Against Poverty, noted that the Summit highlighted the increasing polarization between the Global North and South, especially around issues like debt and economic justice. Ingo raised concerns about the shrinking space for civil society in global governance processes, with civil society sidelined in major discussions. He pointed to the upcoming 2025 World Social Summit as a critical venue where civil society can push for stronger engagement.
The panel then heard from Patrizia Heidegger, Deputy Secretary General of the EEB, who noted the progress on environmental goals praised civil society’s mobilization efforts, noting significant legislative wins under the EGD, including stricter regulations on resource use and waste, more robust climate targets, and new ecodesign standards. Despite these advances, major obstacles remain, including inadequate fiscal commitments to support decarbonization and dematerialization. From the social justice perspective, Mikael Leyei, SOLIDAR’s Secretary General, highlighted troubling trends in social justice, with poverty rates on the rise and social indicators declining. Mikael noted that a coherent policy framework for a just transition is essential and called for better integration of social and environmental justice goals. Mikael also noted the growing influence of nationalist and far-right movements within EU member states. He urged civil society to mobilize nationally and within the EU, building broad alliances to counter anti-democratic trends and ensure that social and environmental justice remain priorities in the next EU mandate. Overall the panel set the scene as to how the EU should move forward on SDG implementation, emphasising economic system change, social justice, a just transition and the need for greater adherence to the principle of policy coherence for sustainable development in all EU actions and policy processes.
Across the two-day Forum, nine thematic civil society workshops were held and SDG Watch Europe’s members heard from a variety of inspiring speakers from the academic and civil society spheres, as well as collaborating to develop policy recommendations for the incoming European Commission and EU Parliament. Alongside the workshops on emerging themes for civil society, a closing dialogue with civil society organisations was held to reflect on their ideas at the end of the two days of discussions.
AGA Key updates
During the Annual General Assembly on the 4 November, elections to the Steering Group were held. SDG Watch Europe would like to thank the outgoing members of the Steering Group for all the incredible work they have done throughout their mandate. Members applauded Laura de Bonfils (Social Platform), Sarah Franklyn (Independent), Stéphanie Ghislain (Eurogroup for Animals) and Jacob Bjelskov Jørgensen (Nyt Europa), who will all be stepping down from the SDG Watch Europe Steering Group after completing their terms.
New Members of the SDG Watch Europe Steering Group
SDG Watch Europe hereby congratulates and welcomes three new steering group members who were unanimously elected to the Steering Group at the AGA; Katja Reuter of Social Platform, Justina Kaluinaite of the Lithuanian NGDO Platform and Valeria Fantini of the European Association for Local Democracy (ALDA). In addition, SDG Watch Europe warmly welcomes back Robert Krizanic (Povod) and Manuela Gervasi (EEB), who were re-elected to the Steering Group for one additional term.
SDG Watch Europe also set priority focus areas for 2025 that will be crucial to work on in order to advance its mission of SDG implementation. SDG Watch Europe will continue to focus on the ambitious implementation of the SDGs by the EU institutions in the 2024-2029 mandate. In addition, the network will address new narratives for sustainable development, moving beyond competitiveness, deregulation and disinformation, towards a global wellbeing economy. Another key priority area for 2025 is the financing for the SDGs, including the Upcoming Multiannual financial framework (MFF) negotiations and the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development. Lastly, members highlighted the importance of the EU’s international development cooperation and the Global Gateway Strategy, moving towards global justice.