By: Philipp Heimberger, Andreas Lichtenberger The member states of the European Union need to increase public investment to transform the energy and transport system and achieve climate targets. This necessity is also highlighted due to the geopolitical circumstances surrounding the war in Ukraine, in particular the price increases caused by fossil fuels. Current public spending is not sufficient to successfully fight climate change, argue the authors of the Policy Brief. They analyse the prospective reform of EU fiscal rules as announced by the European Commission, suggest the establishment of a permanent EU investment fund for climate and offer policy recommendations.
By: Daniele Fattibene, Federico Castiglioni, Matteo Bonomi The Sustainable Development Goals are an ambitious benchmark that the United Nations has adopted to scientifically assess the advancement made by single countries in sustainable growth. The European Union fully embraces these objectives and is recently anchoring to these international standards many of its plans on sustainability and development. Indeed, even though the Copenhagen criteria do not explicitly mention environmental goals, the political dialogue on the Sustainable Development Goals between Brussels and all the EU candidate countries today is vibrant but not much investigated. The authors of this Policy Brief aim to shed a light on the relationship between Sustainable Development Goals and the EU policy of enlargement, focusing the attention on the Western Balkan region, and provide policy recommendations to both European and national decision-makers.
By: Dominic Maugeais The European Union’s enlargement policy towards the Western Balkans aims at promoting democratic reforms, good governance and economic transformation to support the countries in fulfilling the Copenhagen Criteria, as precondition for a future EU membership. This policy reflects the democratic values that are fundamental for the functioning and cohesion of the EU as a political system. The author of this Policy Brief claims that the social dimension of the enlargement policy should be strengthened, and a credible enlargement perspective should be ensured to improve the overall social and economic development outlook in the region. The socio-economic policy of the EU member states towards the Western Balkans is not long-term oriented, the author argues and proposes policy shifts to make it more sustainable.
By: Philipp Heimberger, Andreas Lichtenberger The member states of the European Union need to increase public investment to transform the energy and transport system and achieve climate targets. This necessity is also highlighted due to the geopolitical circumstances surrounding the war in Ukraine, in particular the price increases caused by fossil fuels. Current public spending is not sufficient to successfully fight climate change, argue the authors of the Policy Brief. They analyse the prospective reform of EU fiscal rules as announced by the European Commission, suggest the establishment of a permanent EU investment fund for climate and offer policy recommendations.
By: Daniele Fattibene, Federico Castiglioni, Matteo Bonomi The Sustainable Development Goals are an ambitious benchmark that the United Nations has adopted to scientifically assess the advancement made by single countries in sustainable growth. The European Union fully embraces these objectives and is recently anchoring to these international standards many of its plans on sustainability and development. Indeed, even though the Copenhagen criteria do not explicitly mention environmental goals, the political dialogue on the Sustainable Development Goals between Brussels and all the EU candidate countries today is vibrant but not much investigated. The authors of this Policy Brief aim to shed a light on the relationship between Sustainable Development Goals and the EU policy of enlargement, focusing the attention on the Western Balkan region, and provide policy recommendations to both European and national decision-makers.
By: Dominic Maugeais The European Union’s enlargement policy towards the Western Balkans aims at promoting democratic reforms, good governance and economic transformation to support the countries in fulfilling the Copenhagen Criteria, as precondition for a future EU membership. This policy reflects the democratic values that are fundamental for the functioning and cohesion of the EU as a political system. The author of this Policy Brief claims that the social dimension of the enlargement policy should be strengthened, and a credible enlargement perspective should be ensured to improve the overall social and economic development outlook in the region. The socio-economic policy of the EU member states towards the Western Balkans is not long-term oriented, the author argues and proposes policy shifts to make it more sustainable.
