Today, March 5, 2019, the minister delegate for European affairs, George Ciamba, attended the seminar “Navigating through SDGs. Aligning sustainability goals with the European industries”, included on the agenda of the “Annual Industry Days” Conference that is organised in Bucharest under the auspices of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU and of the EU Industry Week.
The minister delegate for European affairs emphasised in his speech that the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU placed special importance on the Sustainable Development Goals and on bringing economic convergence and social cohesion. In this context, the minister underlined the importance of the European efforts aimed at contributing to a sustainable economic development, while ensuring a rational use of the natural resources and the protection of the environment.
The minister delegate for European affairs stated that the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was a joint responsibility. He asked for an efficient partnership actively engaging the Member States, the private sector and the civil society, and also pointed out the need to ensure a strong engagement of the private sector in order to give substance to the relationship between the industry and sustainable development.
In that sense, the minister delegate showed that the efforts made so far at European level had started to yield material results, as the EU industry was recognised to have turned into one of the most efficient industries at global level and to have already contributed a net reduction to greenhouse gas emissions, while having increased productivity at the same time.
The minister also underlined that such efforts had led to a more modern economy in Europe, as well as to sustainable economic growth, and that they had come with social and environmental benefits for the European citizens. Nevertheless, more work was still required in order to better inform the citizens of the actions and the work undertaken at European level for their benefit.
As a conclusion to his speech, the minister delegate for European affairs pointed out that, building on the European Commission reflection paper “Towards a Sustainable Europe by 2030”, which underlined the need for stronger actions towards a sustainable development, both at EU level and worldwide, the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU would seek – in partnership with the United Nations – to facilitate the debates on the prospects of implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the European Union.