Sustainable development in the European Union - 2011 monitoring report of the EU sustainable development strategy

Sustainable development is a fundamental and overarching objective of the European Union, enshrined in the Treaty. The EU sustainable development strategy, launched by the European Council in Gothenburg in 2001 and renewed in June 2006, aims for the continuous improvement of quality of life for current and future generations.
The Eurostat monitoring report, based on the EU set of sustainable development indicators, provides an objective, statistical picture of progress towards the goals and objectives of the EU sustainable development strategy. It is published every two years and is intended to contribute to the biennial review on the implementation of the strategy by the European Council.
The statistics cover a wide range of issues related to sustainable development, and will contribute to raising awareness of the opportunities and challenges lying ahead. Quantitative rules applied consistently across indicators, and visualised through weather symbols, provide a relative assessment of whether Europe is moving in the right direction, and at a sufficient pace, given the objectives and targets defined in the strategy. The data presented cover the period from 1990 to the latest year available (2009/10 where possible).