Remarks upon adoption of the package on sustainable development

Check against delivery!

First of all, as you said, we have today three important elements of a very important package on sustainable development.

First, a communication on the Agenda 2030; second the EU Consensus for Development – a proposal to adapt the European Union development policy both to the UN common agenda - the Agenda 2030 - but also to the changes we had with the Lisbon Treaty and with the Global Strategy; and third element of the package we have to present today is a proposal for a new partnership with Africa, the Pacific and  the Caribbean - the ACP of the Cotonou Agreement.

I will say a few words on the three elements, on the external part of it. First of all, the Sustainable Development Goals. You might remember that the European Union played a key role last year in shaping the Agenda 2030, in creating a consensus on the global level to adopt the agenda and that was one of the main achievements of the multilateral system – the UN system – last year as the European Union invests a lot and believes a lot in multilateralism and in the UN system. This is why today we are I would say the first ones to put the same energy, the same political weight, the same inter-cross sectorial determination in implementing the agenda one year later on internal policies, on external actions.

So the first message is this: as the European Union played a key role in determining the Agenda 2030, we are today clearly doing our part in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals both internally and externally. And this externally means in particular ending poverty, protecting the planet and ensuring equal opportunities for all around the world. We all realise today that investing in people outside of our borders is also a way of investing in our own security, in our own present and future is also an investment in Europe and for Europe.

So this is the shift in the approach we have in our development policy. It is not just charity. It is not because we are good and we want to feel good – normally we tend to be also good but it is not the main point here. The main point here is that it is also our interest to invest in people around the world, in their security, in their well-being, in the equal opportunities they can have and in sustainable development. So there is a shift in how we deal with development as a common work with our partners and with a shared responsibility across the world. And the results of this will be beneficial for the entire world, including for Europeans.

The second thing we presented today is a communication we have done together with Neven [Mimica] on the EU Consensus for Development. Some of you might now that our previous consensus dates back to ten years ago. Obviously the world has changed, the European Union system has changed and I would like to summarize on what is new in today’s proposals in development.

First this document does not belong only to the Commission and to the Council, but also to each and every 28 Member States. This will be supported by a common European commitment and by 28 national development policies in unity. So it is not what normally you call one voice; it is also joint action. This is why we have decided that we will work more and more together with all 28 Member States investing more in joint programming, pooling together resources and making use of all the instruments we have at our disposal. I always say that. It is always good to remind us. The European Union together with Member States is, in the world, the biggest provider of humanitarian aid and development assistance, so we are as I often say a superpower on this - and not only on this -, if we act together and this is exactly one step, critical step in that direction.

One year ago all Member States - some of you might remember this - decided to recommit collectively to the 0.7 % target for Official Development Assistance (ODA) and the consensus today incorporates this commitment as a central contribution to eradicating poverty but also preventing conflicts and keeping also our citizens safe.

It would be a small step the 0.7 % if taken nationally but collectively this would be huge. If all our 28 Member States reached the 0.7% target we would mobilise twice as much money as we currently do and already we are the number one donor. So imagine how huge impact this could have on development in the world.

Second element that I would like to underline: we keep a focus on our traditional development policies for ending poverty. I would like here to underline the fact that growth is never sustainable if it is not equal. So good education, good healthcare for all, equal rights for girls and women – these are all essential components of our external action. But the Consensus goes beyond the traditional approach and looks also into new actions. For instance, exploring the link between security and development or the work we do on migration. And today, I believe it is clear to all, we understand that there is no sustainable development without peace and stability, without inclusive societies, good governance.

So, we will put at the centre of our development action those countries that are most in need, the most fragile ones but also looking beyond that. On this, let me remind ourselves two very important conferences the European Union has hosted and organised, one on the Central African Republic just last week and one on Afghanistan, that really showed the added value of the European Union's work to support our partners around the world. Also, combining some of the traditional and some of the innovative approaches we have.

But we also keep working with middle income countries where our contribution for reforms can be really crucial both in the economic or in the security sectors and the list could go on.

Third element that I would like to underline on this proposal: we know that public investments are vital, but never sufficient and we need to mobilise also the private sector. And here the European External Investment Plan (EIP) that we proposed and we presented exactly here in this press room in September with Vice-President [Jyrki] Katainen is a key example. As we work with private businesses and firms to invest, we will also make sure, especially in Africa, we will also make sure that their investments contribute to the sustainable development of each country.  So let me just remind you our proposal is for an External Investment Plan that mobilises up to €44 billion only for Africa and the neighbourhood.

Today, third element - and then I stop I promise, I was a bit long but we have a lot of substance here today -, we also present a Joint Communication for "a renewed partnership with Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific". Our relations are now regulated by the Cotonou agreement that expires in 2020. And the Joint Communication sets out our ideas for a new political partnership, building on our long last standing relationship, aiming at creating a new alliance to address jointly a number of global challenges we share. We are already discussing this with our partners, obviously in the Caribbean, in the Pacific and in Africa on a daily basis, I can say.  

So let me conclude by saying that all our proposals today, the three of them, contribute clearly to one thing that is key to all of us: the implementation of the Global Strategy we presented last June. Now we are moving from the vision to the action very fast. We talked in the Global Strategy of investing in resilient states and societies; this is exactly what we are working on with these proposals today.

We were talking in the Strategy about a more joined-up Union; and this is exactly the exercise we have done to come up with the proposals today. We were talking about the link between security and development; or engaging with the private sector and you will find all these elements in practise in the Communications and the proposals today, exactly the way in which we were working on these months.

So from vision to action, I know that a lot of attention was put last week on the Implementation Plan we adopted with the Ministers of Defence and Foreign Ministers on the Implementation Part of the Global Strategy on Defence and Security, but decisions we are taking today are clearly showing that implementation of the Global Strategy is moving fast and in a coherent manner also on all the other policies starting from the development ones.  Thank you.