Overview of the main subjects to be discussed at meetings of the Council of the EU over the next two weeks.

Foreign Affairs Council, Monday 15 October 2018

The Foreign Affairs Council will discuss Libya, the external aspects of migration and the Central African Republic. Over lunch, foreign ministers will have a discussion on Venezuela.

Agriculture and Fisheries Council, Monday15 October 2018

The Council is due to agree on the 2019 TACs and quotas in the Baltic Sea, and have an exchange of views on the 2019 EU-Norway consultations and the ICCAT annual meeting. The Council will also discuss a progress report on the CAP strategic plans and be informed about the G20 meeting of agriculture ministers and African swine fever.

General Affairs Council, Tuesday 16 October 2018

Ministers will focus on preparations for the October European Council, the next Multiannual Financial Framework and Article 7(1) TEU proceedings concerning Poland and Hungary.

General Affairs Council (Art.50), Tuesday 16 October 2018

EU27 ministers will prepare the European Council (Article 50) of 17 October 2018.

European Council (Art.50), European Council & Euro Summit, Wednesday-Thursday 17-18 October 2018

At the October summit heads of state or government will discuss Brexit, migration, internal security, external relations and euro zone reform.

Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), Thursday-Friday 18-19 October 2018

The 12th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) will address the two topics of connectivity and support for multilateralism under the heading “Europe and Asia: global partners for global challeges”.

EU-Republic of Korea summit, Friday 19 October 2018

At the 9th EU-Republic of Korea summit, leaders will discuss bilateral relations, the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement and the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

EU-ASEAN leaders’ meeting, Friday 19 October 2018

A meeting of EU-ASEAN leaders will take place in Brussels. Leaders will discuss the future of EU-ASEAN relations and how to reinforce their cooperation.

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Your data will be stored in the database until you unsubscribe from the service.

Certain data (name, e-mail address, preferred language, media name, media type) may be disclosed to the press offices of the European institutions, the Permanent Representations of the Member States and to European Union agencies, under the conditions laid down in Articles 7 and 8 of Regulation 45/2001.

If there is data which you would not like to be stored, please let us know at: [email protected]

Your request will be handled by the Press Office of the General Secretariat of the Council in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data.

Your data will be stored in the database until you unsubscribe from the service.

Certain data (name, e-mail address, preferred language, media name, media type) may be disclosed to the press offices of the European institutions, the Permanent Representations of the Member States and to European Union agencies, under the conditions laid down in Articles 7 and 8 of Regulation 45/2001.

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The Platform members adopted a joint contribution to the Commission’s Reflection Paper ‘Towards a Sustainable Europe by 2030’, which will be presented soon as part of the Future of Europe debate launched by President Juncker. The Platform’s contribution will help the Commission in the ongoing preparation of the Reflection Paper and its future work in this field.

Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans, who chairs the Platform, said: “It is so encouraging to see such a broad group of stakeholders coming together and agreeing on the way forward on implementing the SDGs – from Birdlife Europe to BusinessEurope we have managed to get everybody on the same page. This is a minor miracle, and is good news for people and for the planet.“

Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, responsible for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, added: “This is Europe at its best: building consensus among various stakeholders, on the single most important topic for our future: sustainability. I am grateful for this crucial contribution, from which we should all learn.“

The Platform suggests, among other things, that the EU develop an overarching Sustainable Europe 2030 strategy to guide all EU policies and programmes. They suggest strengthening policy coherence for development, for example by aligning the European Semester process, EU public finances and financial regulations, and the EU’s long-term decarbonisation plans with the SDGs. The Platform members also propose ideas in policy areas considered vital for achieving the SDGs such as social inclusion, sustainable consumption and production, climate and energy, food, farming and land-use, and cohesion.

The Platform members welcomed at yesterday’s meeting a delegation of independent scientists that presented the initial findings of the UN Global Sustainable Development Report. Finally, Platform members discussed plans for their future work, and were updated on the European Sustainability Award 2019.

Background

The Communication ‘Next Steps for a Sustainable European Future’, adopted by the Commission on 22 November 2016, announced the launch of a multi-stakeholder platform, chaired by First Vice-President Timmermans, to play a role in the follow-up and exchange of best practices on the Sustainable Development Goals.  

The Platform brings together a diverse group of high level representatives with different backgrounds and areas of knowledge. Experts from academia, non-governmental organisations, business, civil society, the European Economic and Social Committee and the European Committee of the Regions advise the Commission on delivering the SDGs at EU level, and exchange best practices at local, regional, national and EU level.

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals and their 169 associated targets are global in nature, universally applicable and interlinked. All countries, developed and developing alike, have a shared responsibility to achieve the Development Goals.

The EU’s answer to the 2030 Agenda includes two work streams. The first work stream is to fully integrate the Development Goals in the European policy framework and current Commission priorities. A second track includes the reflection on our longer term vision and the focus of sectoral policies after 2020.

For more information

Contribution of the High-level Multi-stakeholder Platform on the SDGs

The multi stakeholder platform on SDGs

EU Approach to Sustainable Development

Monitoring of SDGs in Europe

Commission Communication: Next Steps for a Sustainable European Future

Letter of Intent on the 2018 Commission Work Programme

A new bioeconomy strategy for a sustainable Europe