The conference “The SDGs and the Future of Europe”, organized by the European Network for Political Foundations (ENoP) and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) took place in Bonn, Germany on 15 October 2018. More than 130 participants from over 20 European countries attended the conference and public dialogue in the evening following the event, hosted by SDSN Germany and Deutsche Welle .
The conference was moderated by Patrick Leusch, Head of European Affairs, Deutsche Welle. Guido Schmidt-Traub (Executive Director, SDSN) and Johanna Lutz (Coordinator, ENoP) welcomed the participants, pointing out the lack of leadership in Europe regarding SDG implementation and highlighting 2019 as a critical period for Europe in view of the upcoming European Parliament elections. In this context they emphasized the potential of the recently initiated cooperation between ENoP and SDSN in pushing forward SDG implementation in Europe.
In the panel discussion that followed, Gesine Schwan (President, Humboldt-Viadrina Governance Platform), Matern von Marschall (Member of the German Bundestag) and Timotej Šooš (National Coordinator for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Republic of Slovenia) entered into more detail regarding Europe’s leadership on the SDGs. Although the responsibility for SDG implementation is a responsibility of national governments in Europe, until now, many have been hesitant to take bold action for fear of losing voters for pushing forward global instead of local issues. The discussants also pointed to the lack of awareness of the electorate as well as of politicians regarding the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. Existing top-down structures in the SDG implementation should be balanced with increased bottom-up structures, as for example partnerships between cities and across continents to enforce SDG implementation.
