The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their impact on the European SD governance framework: Preparing for the post-2015 agenda. ESDN Quarterly Report January 2015

This ESDN Quarterly Report is devoted to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the broader context of the post-2015 agenda, with the main focus on the impact that such a process is having and will have on the European SD governance framework and, hence, on EU Member States. The first chapter of the report gives an overview of the post-2015 agenda in the context of sustainable development, providing the current status of the process, its timeline, and the governance challenges and opportunities for implementing SDGs at the European level. In the second chapter, we provide an analysis of how the European Union's SD goals and targets relate to the targets included in the list of the zero draft of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In addition, we offer a picture of how the EU is doing in those areas and issues highlighted by the SDGs. By referring to and using the EU SD Indicators Framework developed by Eurostat, we present the main differences and commonalities between the two frameworks: the SDGs and targets, and the European SD Indicators. The third chapter presents a comparative overview of national activities on SDGs put in place and expected in Europe in the context of the post-2015 agenda. It summarizes the results from a survey the ESDN Office undertook among SD policy-makers in European countries, mainly focusing on the following three main areas: (i) the process (before and after September 2015); (ii) the foreseen implementation phase; and (iii) the governance mechanisms. The fourth and final chapter describes the key topics, relevant discussions and main results of the ESDN Conference 2014 held in Rome in November 2014.