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# 52015DC0044

**COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS A Global Partnership for Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development after 2015 /\* COM/2015/044 final \*/**

  

COMMUNICATION FROM THE
COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND
SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS:

A Global Partnership
for Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development after 2015

I. INTRODUCTION

2015
is a pivotal year for global sustainable development and poverty eradication.
Through the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda, the international
community is called to respond in a transformative manner to fundamental
challenges facing the world today: eradicating poverty, achieving inclusive and
sustainable development for present and future generations and ensuring the
promotion and protection of all human rights and fundamental values as the
basis for peaceful and prosperous societies.

Two
high-level international meetings in the year ahead provide the opportunity to
agree on a new agenda, including a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG),
and on the new global partnership to underpin it: the Third International
Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa in July and the United
Nations (UN) summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda in New
York in September. This process must bring together and build upon earlier
initiatives, in particular the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the 'Rio+20' Conference on Sustainable Development. Agreement on the post-2015 agenda will also
have important implications for negotiations under the UN Framework Convention
on Climate Change.

Significant progress
has already been achieved through various processes at the UN. The report of
the Open Working Group on SDGs[1],
the report of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable
Development Financing[2],
and the UN Secretary-General (UNSG) Synthesis Report[3],
provide key contributions and show that a global agreement on an ambitious
post-2015 development agenda is within reach.

The European Union
(EU) has consistently played an important and constructive role in these
processes, providing key inputs and engaging actively with partners at all
levels. The European Commission Communications of February 2013[4], July
2013[5] and
June 2014[6]
and the Council Conclusions of June 2013[7],
December 2013[8]
and December 2014[9]
articulate the EU's vision for a post-2015 agenda that needs to be global and
universal, incorporating all three dimensions of sustainable development:
social, economic and environmental.

Implementing such a
far-reaching agenda presents a complex challenge but also a unique opportunity
to redefine and strengthen the way the global community works together. In
order to deliver the post-2015 agenda, a new global partnership for poverty
eradication and sustainable development is required. For this global
partnership to succeed, all will have to contribute. The EU is committed to
playing its full part and to working constructively with others, looking
forward to their active participation.

Building on the
Council Conclusions of December 2014, this Communication sets out the European
Commission's views on the overarching principles and main components that the
global partnership needs in order to support the post-2015 development agenda
effectively. It puts forward proposals on how the EU and its Member States could contribute to the partnership. It emphasises the EU's willingness to
positively engage in the global debate on the means of implementation for the
future SDGs and will provide the basis for an EU common position in the
intergovernmental negotiations. Proposals for possible actions to implement the
post-2015 agenda are outlined in the annex.

II. OVERARCHING PRINCIPLES OF THE GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP

The new global
partnership will have to bring a new transformative spirit of solidarity and
cooperation. National
ownership and leadership will be of key importance, supported by political commitment
at the highest level. National
efforts
need to
be reinforced by cooperation at all levels and with all stakeholders, building on experience
with the MDGs on developing
a Global Partnership for Development, and with other international partnerships. To be successful, it is necessary to implement policies and mobilise resources, stepping
up contributions of all countries at their level of capabilities.

The global partnership
should be based on the principles of shared responsibility, mutual
accountability and respective capacity. Countries at all stages of development
must engage with and take responsibility for its implementation.

The partnership also
needs to be based on human rights, good governance, rule of law, support for democratic
institutions, inclusiveness, non-discrimination, and gender equality.

It should support the
integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development in a balanced
manner so as to avoid working in siloes and making trade-offs between different
objectives. The amplifying effect of climate change on the challenges
associated with both poverty eradication and sustainable development requires
the active integration of climate change issues into the post-2015 development
agenda and the global partnership that will underpin it.

Going beyond
traditional channels of cooperation, the global partnership needs to promote
more effective and inclusive forms of multi-stakeholder partnerships, operating
at all levels and involving the private sector and civil society, including
social partners, academia, foundations, knowledge institutions and public
authorities. The success of the agenda requires policy coherence at all levels
to ensure that government policies support poverty reduction and sustainable
development. The global partnership should promote the sustainable and
effective use of all resources, including domestic resources, international
public finance, private sector finance and innovative financing.

A future global
partnership should have a clear focus on achieving measurable, concrete and
sustainable results that contribute directly to agreed goals and targets,
translate into structural reforms and ultimately into positive and sustainable
outcomes for people and planet. Transparency and information sharing for all
stakeholders should be at the heart of the global partnership, which should
underline the importance of strong monitoring, accountability and review at all
levels for all citizens and stakeholders and should promote feedback and
learning.

To deliver on the
post-2015 agenda, all countries should put in place appropriate policies that
will allow them to implement the SDGs according to their respective
capabilities. Efforts should focus equally on setting up the right policies and
on mobilising adequate financial means of implementation, as these are mutually
dependent: a clear and results-oriented policy environment is an indispensable
prerequisite for financing to have real impact and financing should also
actively contribute to leveraging and incentivising other means of
implementation, e.g. through enabling policies, capacity building, trade,
innovation, private investments.

The European Commission,
in close cooperation with the Member States, will work to implement the agenda
within the EU and to support implementation elsewhere in the world through
constructive cooperation and partnerships. Full implementation of the post-2015
agenda will require the active engagement of the EU and its Member States
taking actions at all levels. The EU can offer its experience of implementing
policies that reflect key principles of the agenda such as sustainability,
cooperation and partnerships. These range from the Europe 2020 Strategy[10], which aims to create smart, sustainable,
inclusive growth through an integrated and coherent set of policy measures, to Policy Coherence
for Development[11]
and the 7th Environment Action Programme[12].

III. KEY COMPONENTS OF THE GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP – MEANS
OF IMPLEMENTATION

Key components that
should form part of the global partnership are outlined below. These include
arrangements that should be pursued by all partners for successful
implementation and concrete proposals on how the EU could contribute.

3.1.
An enabling and conducive policy environment at all levels

In each country, a
coherent mix of effective policies, practices, institutions and resources is
needed to create a favourable domestic environment for implementing the
post-2015 agenda. Good governance at all levels is an essential means of
implementation of the agenda and an important objective in itself.

At national level, all
governments in full consultation with their citizens will need to decide how
they will contribute to the achievement of the goals and targets, keeping in
mind the need to reach out to all members of society, in particular the most
vulnerable. The full involvement of civil society is essential. The new global partnership
should also unlock the development potential of local authorities and local
stakeholders. Coordination between the different levels – global, national,
regional and local – should be reinforced.

For implementation at
the national and sub-national levels, each country needs an effective
legislative and regulatory framework to achieve policy objectives. Countries need to
promote effective and responsive institutions, transparent policies and systems
and accountability to their citizens through democratic processes based on the
rule of law. This
should include
providing
fair and
predictable legal frameworks that promote and protect
human rights, core labour standards and the environment, and ensure the
sustainable management of natural resources. It also requires providing a stable enabling
environment for the private sector, including establishing a level playing
field for competition
and encouraging
sustainable investments. Implementing and enforcing legislation is critical,
including through combatting illegal activities, removing barriers to
implementation, building enforcement capacity and raising public awareness, so
that stakeholders can hold governments and authorities to account. The EU is
committed to improving its own regulatory framework and to cooperating with
partners to help develop and strengthen regulatory frameworks that are
equitable, effective and transparent, and reinforce the efficiency,
independence and quality of justice systems, through capacity building and
exchange of knowledge.

Good governance
requires effective systems for budgeting, financial allocation and monitoring
of expenditure. These systems need to be fully transparent and open to the
general public in order to encourage participatory decision-making and private
sector engagement, and to tackle corruption. Effective macroeconomic policies
are vital to ensure that the necessary resources are mobilised and spent
effectively in line with the objectives of the SDGs.

Governments need to
promote growth that is sustainable and inclusive, benefitting all members of
society, including the marginalised and excluded. Regulatory instruments should
be combined with economic instruments, which are flexible and cost-effective
tools that can help achieve combined objectives. Economic instruments, such as
fiscal incentives, feed-in tariffs and payments for ecosystem services, can
create incentives for sustainable growth, including by shifting tax burdens
from labour towards products that have negative impacts on sustainability and by
issuing tradable emissions permits, as for example is the case with the EU
Emissions Trading System. Carbon pricing acts as a major driver of investment
in clean technologies and low-carbon solutions, particularly in developing
countries; all countries should therefore engage in carbon pricing to address
greenhouse gas emissions.

Sustainable public
procurement allows governments to leverage public spending to increase demand
for sustainable products and services, based on social and environmental
criteria, increasing their market share and providing business with tangible
incentives.

Policy coherence is at
the core of a truly conducive policy environment. For the global partnership to
succeed, all policies at national and subnational level need to contribute
coherently to the achievement of the SDGs both domestically and
internationally.

Account should be
taken of the key role of many sectors, such as agriculture, energy and health
in contributing to a range of goals and targets. Policy measures that help
create and promote access to decent jobs with sustainable and adequate social
protection for all, as well as those that facilitate investment in human
capital via education, skilling and training, are of critical importance.
Addressing inequality and social exclusion, in particular among the most
vulnerable, including women, children, the elderly and persons with
disabilities remains essential, including through the use of tools such as
gender and age markers.

Another key step is
reforming or eliminating environmentally harmful subsidies, such as fossil fuel
subsidies, and replacing them with interventions that are climate-smart, less
environmentally harmful and that contribute more effectively to poverty
reduction. Policy coherence also
implies adequate coordination mechanisms for dialogue between stakeholders and
monitoring and assessment of policies and results.

The importance of the
regional level should not be overlooked. The EU actively  promotes regional
development and integration which can spur trade, investment and mobility, and
can foster peace and stability.

At global level, implementing
the post-2015 agenda will also require an effective international system of
governance, stable financial markets and economic cooperation, including the
necessary levels of regulation. Global governance institutions need to be
effective and transparent, with systems to assess and report progress against
objectives. The moves towards better governance of international financial
institutions need to be continued. In addition, the G7 and G20 agendas are
examples of the type of policy commitments that could make a big difference.

Global public goods also
need coordinated international policies and action, including through better
implementation of international agreements that play a central role in
achieving several SDGs. Many issues are global or trans-boundary and therefore
require specific international cooperation agreements to address them. National
policies also need to be consistent and aligned with international agreements.
The EU is an active supporter of and party to a number of international
agreements and is prepared to take a leading role and further contribute to
implementation actions in a number of areas, such as multilateral health
agreements, multilateral environmental agreements and international ocean
governance.

In an increasingly
interlinked world, all countries need systematically to take into account the
impact, both positive and negative, that their policies can have on other
countries. To this end, all developed, upper-middle income countries and
emerging economies should commit to set up systems to assess the impact of
adopting new policies on poorer countries. For the EU, Policy Coherence for
Development is a legal commitment to take development cooperation objectives
into account in policies that the EU implements which are likely to affect
developing countries. This means both addressing possible negative impacts of
domestic policies on third countries and fostering synergies across economic,
social and environmental policy areas.

3.2.
Develop capacity
to deliver the agenda

The
post-2015 agenda can only take root if all partners have effective institutions
and the necessary human skills and capacities to eradicate poverty and deliver
sustainable development. This includes the capacity to assess needs, collect
data, monitor implementation and review strategies. To achieve the SDGs, it is
necessary to develop additional and new capacities and skills at all levels and
in all countries, including in the EU.

Capacity
development, including institutional and organisational development, will only
be effective if it is owned and driven by those who need it. It should be
driven by learning and knowledge-based initiatives as well as through a
continuous, fair and constructive dialogue on policies and development results.
This approach should focus on developing human resources and systems and
processes for planning, management and monitoring.

All
partners in international cooperation, including international organisations,
should reinforce and refine their support to capacity development processes,
including the use of networks and systems for knowledge exchange, peer learning
and coordination among all development partners. This can involve all kinds of
cooperation partnerships, including north-south, south-south, triangular and
regional approaches, with the engagement of public and private stakeholders.
Particular effort is necessary in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and in
fragile states, where it is essential to prepare conditions for transition and
build the resilience of the most vulnerable populations.

The EU is
committed to improving and mainstreaming support for capacity development in
all sectors of cooperation through a multi-stakeholder perspective. The EU
recognises the development of capacity in partner countries as a key factor for
improving aid effectiveness and already facilitates peer-to-peer learning
processes and networking through initiatives such as technical cooperation and
institutional development programmes. The EU will step up capacity building in
the field of statistics and monitoring in partner countries.

3.3.
Mobilisation and effective use of domestic public finance

National governments
have the primary responsibility for implementing sustainable economic policies.
This includes the responsibility to mobilise and use public resources,
including natural resources, efficiently.

It also requires sound
public financial management and the setting-up and reinforcement of audit,
control, anti-fraud and anti-corruption measures, sound tax administration and
country by country reporting to increase financial transparency and combat
illicit financial flows.

Although domestic
public revenues have increased significantly in recent years, the tax ratio for
many countries is still low. Beyond
providing the fiscal space for national spending on development priorities, the
effective and transparent collection and use of domestic public resources
strengthens domestic accountability and contributes to a sound
government-citizen relationship. Thus, deepening and broadening the domestic
resource base and improving its management and effective use in all countries are pivotal for poverty
eradication and sustainable development.

Natural capital
accounts can help countries rich in natural resources to enhance their
governance and transparency in contributing to economic growth. The green
economy transformation offers major new opportunities as a driver of
sustainable economic growth. The EU is committed to strengthening its efforts
in this area, both internally and through support to developing countries.

The increasing
integration of international financial markets and economic globalisation
brings new challenges to raising domestic revenues. International cooperation to
ensure a transparent, cooperative and fair tax environment is therefore needed
to increase domestic revenue mobilisation.

Debt is an important
element and needs to be considered in the context of overall public finances.
Sustainable debt financing, underpinned by effective debt management, is a
cornerstone of financial stability and sustainable fiscal policy.

All countries should
make commitments to mobilise and use domestic public finance effectively,
including for global public goods such as climate and biodiversity and for
sectors central to poverty eradication and sustainable development, such as
agriculture and energy. All countries should apply environmental and social
safeguards and promote and implement programmes that lead to greater resilience
thus saving costs in the long term. Mainstreaming climate objectives into
public domestic financing is vital both for raising resources for climate
change actions and for avoiding unsustainable investments and negative
long-term costs.

All countries should
commit to achieving optimal levels of government revenue, measured for instance
by the tax-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio, including by strengthening
relevant institutions, increasing the capacity of tax administrations and reforming
national tax systems to broaden the tax base where appropriate and to ensure
fair and just tax policies.

All countries also need
to ensure that they have in place systems for the efficient, sustainable and
transparent management of all public resources, including debt and treasury
management and management of natural resources revenue. This would require
carrying out government-led reform programmes and strengthening the
institutions with responsibility for budgetary planning and oversight,
including independent national supreme audit institutions, parliaments and
civil society. Open data policies should be encouraged, including the
development of national open data portals.

International
cooperation to tackle illicit financial flows should be stepped up to ensure a
level playing field in taxation for local and international companies. Transparency
and accountability in extractive industries should be increased, including the
disclosure of payments by companies to governments.

International
cooperation should also be strengthened in relation to taxation. All countries
should comply with the minimum standards of good governance in the tax area
(transparency, exchange of information and fair tax competition) and commit to
enacting national regulations to tackle tax evasion, tax avoidance and
aggressive tax planning and to avoid harmful tax competition. All countries
should work on the implementation of the base erosion and profit shifting
recommendations.

3.4.
Mobilisation and effective use of international public finance

International public
financing remains an important and catalytic element of the overall financing
available for developing countries and more will be needed over the next 15
years to implement this ambitious agenda. As the UNSG outlined in his Synthesis
Report, the post-2015 agenda should be based on the principles of universality,
shared responsibility and solidarity. The European Commission therefore
strongly supports the UNSG's call that all developed countries should meet the
UN target of 0.7% ODA/GNI and agree to concrete timetables to meet Official
Development Assistance (ODA) commitments.

Developing and emerging
economies have been driving global growth over the past decade. Given the
continuing economic and financial improvements in many developing countries,
public international finance needs to evolve over the post-2015 period to be
more effective in accelerating the pace of change and helping make it
sustainable. An increasing number of countries which are not members of the
OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) already provide significant amounts
of finance. These partners are helping to transform the development finance
landscape through alternative cooperation strategies and modalities, and should
contribute more to support countries most in need. Given their importance, and in
line with the suggestions in the UNSG Synthesis Report, upper middle-income
countries and emerging economies should commit to increasing their contribution
to international public financing and to specific targets and timelines for
doing so.

The EU and its Member States provide more than 50% of all ODA and will maintain a strong collective
commitment. The timeline for EU financial commitments should be decided as part
of the above-mentioned global commitment, which should ensure that all
high-income countries as well as upper-middle income countries and emerging
economies are providing their fair share to support poorer countries in
reaching internationally agreed objectives.

The role and relevance
of international public finance differs between countries. Resources should be
targeted where the need is greatest and where they have the highest impact. In
this respect, an effort by all providers of finance to reverse the trend of
decline in assistance to the poorest countries is vital. As referred to by the
UNSG, all high income countries should respect the UN target of 0.15% of GNI
for development assistance to LDCs, as laid down in the Istanbul Programme of
Action[13].
Upper middle-income countries and emerging economies should also commit to
increasing their contribution to LDCs and set targets and timelines to do so.

International public
resources from all providers need to be delivered and used effectively, in line
with the principles of ownership, focus on results, inclusive partnership,
transparency and mutual accountability. All providers of financing should make
concrete efforts to improve transparency, strengthen delivery and
accountability, support the measurement and demonstration of sustainable
results, implement guidelines in situations of conflict and fragility[14] and
reduce fragmentation of the international aid architecture.

In times of economic
constraints, making full use of public financing potential is key. ODA can help
boost other means of implementation if properly designed and implemented. It
can multiply public domestic financing by supporting improved tax and fiscal
policies, unlock infrastructure projects through blending and public-private
partnerships, and promote science and technology exchanges.

Since the post-2015
agenda has to be fully coherent and supportive of climate objectives, it is
important to make sure that the financing framework for the post-2015 agenda is
fully coherent and aligned with climate finance, as emphasised by the UNSG's
Synthesis Report. It is to be noted in this context that the EU has decided
already for the period 2014-2020 to dedicate 20% of its budget – including for
external actions – to climate-related projects and policies. The EU also
remains committed to fulfilling its obligations under international
conventions, including on biodiversity and other key global issues.

3.5.
Stimulate trade to eradicate poverty and promote sustainable development

Trade is a key factor
for inclusive growth and sustainable development, and is therefore an important
means of implementation for the post-2015 agenda.

The EU recognises the
primacy of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) with regard to trade-related
issues at a global level and considers that the rules-based multilateral
trading system plays an invaluable role in creating a level playing field for
all countries, notably developing ones. The EU therefore remains fully
committed to the Doha Development Agenda and the implementation of the Bali package, notably the Trade Facilitation Agreement and the LDC elements, which will
promote further integration of LDCs into international markets and global value
chains. The EU will constructively engage in the upcoming negotiations on the
post-Bali work programme with a view to completing the Round promptly.

Many countries,
notably emerging economies, have successfully realised the potential of an open
trading system to boost their trade and to enjoy sustained rates of GDP growth.
While these changes have helped to lift hundreds of millions of people out of
poverty, not all developing countries have enjoyed such gains. LDCs in
particular remain marginalised in global trade.

Each country has the
primary responsibility for maximising the potential of trade for inclusive
growth and sustainable development through good governance, sound domestic
policies and reforms. The aim is to create a stable regulatory environment that
is favourable to the private sector and investment, and which contributes to a
country's integration into regional and global value chains. At the same time,
countries have to ensure internationally-agreed labour standards and adequate
skills for the workforce, while promoting the transition towards a green
economy.

Yet the world's most
vulnerable countries, notably LDCs, face particular obstacles related to lack
of capacity, inadequate infrastructure or insufficient diversification of production.
They need support in order to facilitate their integration into the global
trading system and so derive maximum economic, social and environmental
benefits. Improved market access and aid for trade play a crucial role in this
respect.

The EU market is the
most open to developing countries. The EU has simplified its rules of origin
and enhanced information to countries most in need on how to access its market.
The EU also implements unilateral instruments in support of sustainable
development, including the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP). It provides
additional trade preferences under the GSP+ to vulnerable economies committed
to effectively implementing 27 core international conventions on human and
labour rights, environmental protection and good governance. Furthermore, the
Everything But Arms initiative grants duty free and quota free access for all
LDC products except arms and ammunition. All developed countries and emerging
economies should grant duty free and quota free access to their markets to LDC
products.

The EU and its Member States are also the world's leading providers of Aid for Trade, accounting for a
third of the global total. This includes capacity building to meet EU standards
and enjoy the full benefit of trade agreements and unilateral EU trade
preferences. The EU will seek to update its Aid for Trade Strategy in the light
of the outcomes of the post-2015 negotiations. All developed countries and
emerging economies should increase their Aid for Trade to LDCs and provide it
according to development effectiveness principles.

To realise the full
potential of trade, all countries have to increasingly reflect
'behind-the-border' issues in their trade policy. These include: trade
facilitation; technical regulations and standards; labour and environmental
regulations; investment; services; intellectual property rights; and public
procurement. The EU addresses these issues in its trade agreements, including
with developing countries. Furthermore, all countries should assess the sustainability
impact of trade agreements and their impact on LDCs.

The EU has enhanced
the integration of sustainable development into its trade policy. This includes
the systematic inclusion of sustainable development provisions, including
labour and environmental aspects, in all its trade agreements, both with
developed and developing partners. The involvement of civil society
representatives in the implementation of these provisions is essential to
delivering results. All countries should enhance the integration of sustainable
development into their trade policy.

The mutual reinforcing
of trade and sustainable development can also be promoted by reducing or
eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers for environmental goods,
technologies and services, as well as environmentally friendly products. In
this respect, the EU is strongly committed to a rapid conclusion of a
plurilateral agreement on environmental products and services (the "Green
Goods Agreement") and invites more countries to join the on-going negotiations.

In order to deliver
the SDGs, a transformational trade agenda needs to improve responsible
behaviour and legislation as well as transparency throughout all supply chains.
Natural resources are a driver for development through their exploitation and
trade, but greater effort needs to be put into promoting legal, responsible,
sustainable and transparent sourcing, trade and use of natural resources and
raw materials, including through EU legislation on country-by-country reporting
and bilateral agreements such as with timber exporting countries. The European
Commission has also recently presented a proposal on responsible mineral
sourcing from conflict-affected and high-risk areas.[15]

International measures
to combat illegal trade harmful to the environment (such as in wildlife,
hazardous substances and natural resources) need to be strengthened – good examples
of what can be done are the Voluntary Partnership Agreements that the EU is
negotiating in the context of its initiative on Forest Law Enforcement
Governance and Trade.

The development of
international guidelines and standards, as well as public and private
sustainability schemes (such as fair trade schemes), can also provide economic,
environmental and social benefits.

3.6.
Drive transformative change through science, technology and innovation

Solutions generated by
science, technology and innovation are important drivers for the implementation
of the vision for the world beyond 2015. Science, technology and innovation,
including digitisation, can generate profound changes in a relatively short
period of time, but not automatically address social and environmental
problems, all stakeholders have to exploit the potential offered by science,
technology and innovation to benefit smart, sustainable and inclusive
development. All partners therefore have to foster innovation that helps
citizens to escape poverty, generates quality employment, optimises complex
systems and value chains, promotes sustainable consumption and production
patterns, reduces the vulnerability to disasters and other shocks and promotes
the efficient use of scarce resources. All countries need to foster the
necessary higher or specific skills to encourage and support science,
technology and innovation. In developing countries in
particular, full use should be made of the potential of information and
communication technologies and their applications as drivers of inclusive and
sustainable growth, innovation and entrepreneurship.

As most of the
technologies are owned by business, their transfer can only work on mutually
agreed terms, while their intellectual property rights must also be respected.
Governments should foster the facilitation of technology diffusion, sharing and
transfer through an enabling environment and incentives at domestic level that
are geared towards sustainability and provide adequate protection of intellectual
property rights according to the WTO rules. Public-private partnerships and
investments in research and development should be promoted, while ensuring
their contribution to sustainable development.

All countries should
increase bilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation on science,
technology and innovation and on solution-oriented research, including on
information and communication technologies, to promote implementation of the
SDGs. In order to facilitate development of and access to vital and
environmentally sound technologies, not only North-South cooperation but also
South-South and triangular cooperation are needed, in particular for LDCs.
Emerging economies play an important role in the development and transfer of
technology and capacity development for LDCs, as well as in scientific and
technological cooperation.

Cooperation on
technology transfer should go beyond pure technological development and include
longer-term investments that are adapted to local contexts, engage with
communities and users and ensure that the needs of people and the environment
are taken into account ("human-and eco-centred design").

The UN should continue
to facilitate access to information on existing technology and promote
coherence and coordination between technology mechanisms, including any new
mechanisms. In order to bring additional value and avoid duplication, the
European Commission suggests that any new mechanism should function as a
clearing-house for existing initiatives, aiming to promote coordination and
synergies between them, while ensuring the participation of all relevant
stakeholders. The establishment of an online platform building on and complementing
existing initiatives, as suggested in the UNSG's Synthesis Report, might
contribute to this aim.

The EU is committed to
fostering science, technology and innovation, both within the Union and in
cooperation with international partner countries and regions. Horizon 2020, the
EU's research and innovation programme, earmarks 60% of its budget to support
sustainable development and is open to participation from across the world. The
EU promotes open access to publications, and on a pilot basis data, resulting
from publicly funded research in Horizon 2020 to facilitate knowledge sharing
and to enhance research and innovation capacity, including in developing
countries. As part of its development cooperation, the EU supports innovation
and technology transfer capacities through higher education programmes,
especially in the area of sustainable agriculture and food security, with the
aim of increasing sustainability by setting agricultural production on to a
sustainable growth path and translating research outcomes into practical
solutions. Through its participation in various partnerships, the EU also
contributes to crisis and disaster prevention, preparedness and response.

3.7.
Mobilising the domestic and international private sector

Business and consumers
will be key actors in the transition to sustainable development, since the
private sector, ranging from small stakeholders to major multinationals, is an
important engine for innovation, sustainable growth, job creation, trade, and
poverty reduction. It also plays a critical role in investing in resource
efficiency and infrastructure, such as sustainable transport systems, energy
networks and digital infrastructures that are vital for a country's economic
growth. Implementing the post-2015 agenda therefore requires a business
environment that is conducive to private sector initiatives, supporting micro,
small and medium-sized enterprises, empowering women and deepening financial
inclusion. Consumers should be empowered to make informed choices through better
information on the sustainability credentials of products, including through
the promotion and use of sustainability labelling. Sustainability standards and
criteria underpin a range of measures to achieve the SDGs, such as fiscal
incentives, public procurement, company reporting and product labelling.

Although the track
record of business in mitigating its environmental and social impact is
improving, there is huge potential for the private sector to further improve
its contribution to poverty eradication and sustainable development. Businesses
should systematically analyse the environmental and social impact of the
products they use and produce by carrying out a life cycle analysis. There are
many standards, principles and guidelines available for companies to use, and the post-2015 agenda provides a great opportunity
to start addressing these issues. One example is work to develop guidance for
responsible agricultural supply chains.

Governments and the
private sector must work together to achieve a common vision of sustainable and
inclusive growth, with governments setting the regulatory environment, ensuring
its enforcement and establishing incentives, and with the private sector making
more sustainable investments. The scale of blending public funds with loans
from international financial institutions and funds from the private sector
will continue to grow over the next decades, including for sustainable
investments in climate-smart infrastructure and businesses and for deepening
financial inclusion.

An important
pre-condition for the development of the private sector is access to finance,
in conjunction with appropriate legal frameworks and judicial structures.
Simple, transparent and stable rules and institutions, backed up by functioning
justice and dispute-resolution systems are crucial elements for an inclusive
and conducive business environment and to promote sustainable investments. A
challenge for local and national authorities is to create conditions to
encourage progressive formalisation of the informal sector (resulting in better
services and increased tax revenues) without discouraging dynamism and
innovation.

Innovative business
models that integrate the poor into markets, whether as consumers or producers,
should be facilitated as a means of achieving sustainable and inclusive growth.
Businesses should be encouraged to continue successful initiatives that aim to
improve working conditions and environmental opportunities, such as the Accord
on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh[16]
and the EU Business and Biodiversity Platform[17].

The private sector can
also drive transformation by addressing issues such as transparency, labour
conditions, health and safety at work, access to social protection, voice and
empowerment as well as waste, pollution, resource efficiency and the protection
of the environment. It can also actively support the strengthening of rule of
law. Increased resource efficiency, moving towards a circular economy, also
makes sound economic sense. Through greater business and product
responsibility, particularly in sectors with strong multiplier effects, such as
agriculture, energy, digital technologies, infrastructure and green sectors,
the private sector will have a huge impact and contribute to attaining
inclusive and sustainable growth. This in turn will lead to positive feedback
since addressing gaps, for instance in transport or energy infrastructure, will
tackle critical bottlenecks to economic growth in many LDCs and to their entry
into global value chains.

Multi-stakeholder
partnerships are needed to scale up business initiatives. Small and
medium-sized enterprises are major drivers of job creation but they often lack
the economies of scale and capacity to invest in innovative technology
or participate fully in sustainability programmes. Partnerships with large
multinationals, for instance through the UN Global Compact[18], can
help small and medium-sized enterprises to realise their sustainable
development and innovation potential.

The EU already does much to facilitate private
sector engagement in developing countries and will continue its efforts.
Through development cooperation, the EU promotes business engagement in
sustainable energy, sustainable agriculture, fisheries, forestry and
agribusiness, information and communication technologies, sustainable
infrastructure, green infrastructure and green economy sectors. The EU
encourages businesses to invest more and more responsibly in developing
countries, including through differentiated and specific approaches in fragile,
conflict-affected countries that urgently need jobs and economic opportunities
to restore social cohesion, peace and political stability. The EU works with
partner governments to create a supportive business environment, including
through stepping up support to small and medium-sized enterprises, promoting
eco-entrepreneurship, empowering women as entrepreneurs and workers and
deepening financial inclusion.

The EU is
taking steps to enhance market reward for corporate social and environmental
responsibility and disseminate good practice, improve self and co-regulation
processes; and improve company disclosure of social and
environmental information. It will also
continue to promote sustainability guidelines, including on corporate social
responsibility, through dialogue with partner countries. The EU actively promotes meaningful business engagement and
the uptake of internationally agreed principles and guidelines, including the
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

3.8.
Harnessing the positive effects of migration

Among the global
trends that will have large-scale and complex impacts on the post-2015 agenda,
migration provides an example of an issue which can be managed in a way that
contributes positively to achievement of the SDGs.

For individuals,
migration can be one of the most powerful and immediate strategies for poverty
reduction.  People move to escape poverty and conflict, adapt to climate
change, environmental and economic shocks, seek protection from persecution or
serious harm, and improve the income, health, and education of their families.
Although migration has undoubtedly contributed to progress towards achieving
many of the MDGs, forced or poorly managed migration can result in personal
distress, increase the risk of migrants falling into hands of traffickers,
strain capacities in destination countries and increase social tensions. All
countries need to make efforts to manage migration effectively with full
respect for migrants' rights and dignity, hence reducing their vulnerability. Given
that migration occurs in all directions, better migration governance will
require strengthened partnerships among states and other stakeholders.

The new global
partnership should foster a more collaborative approach to increase the
benefits of international migration for sustainable development and to reduce
vulnerabilities. The international community should commit to working together
to develop a comprehensive framework for addressing both legal and irregular
migration in countries of origin, transit and destination, covering also
aspects such as health, education and employment. Initiatives are needed to allow
legal migrants to keep more of what they earn, particularly by reducing
remittances and recruitment costs, to claim portability of earned social
security benefits and to contribute their full potential by recognising their
skills and qualifications, while combatting discrimination. The international
responsibility for migration management must be shared. The international
community could also promote measures on migrants' access to public services,
health care, education and other services. The EU has pioneered an external
migration policy – the Global Approach to Migration and Mobility [19] –
that is balanced and comprehensive. This has developed as an efficient
framework to engage third countries and regions on migration and asylum issues
in mutually beneficial ways. Through this approach, the EU has positive
experience in ensuring coherence between migration and development objectives. To go a step further,
the European Commission is developing a European Agenda on Migration, with a
balanced and comprehensive approach to better link the EU migration policy with
its external policies, including development policy, fostering greater internal
and external cooperation.

IV. KEY COMPONENTS OF THE GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP – MONITORING,
ACCOUNTABILITY AND REVIEW

As
the success of the post-2015 agenda depends on countries working together and
upholding their commitments, it is important to monitor and review progress on
implementation. The monitoring, accountability and review framework should be
an integral part of the agenda and be underpinned by the principles of
transparency, inclusiveness and responsiveness, efficiency and effectiveness.
It needs to cover all aspects of the SDGs as well as all means of
implementation, including all aspects of financing. The process should facilitate
and encourage countries to maximise progress, design and evaluate effective
policies, share experience and demonstrate best practices. But it must be
efficient as well as effective, adding value but not duplicating efforts or
resources. The framework should build on already established systems for
monitoring and accountability, such as those established under international
agreements.

As
pointed out in the UNSG's Synthesis Report, the new agenda must become part of
a contract between people, including civil society and the private sector, and
governments. The framework should build upon a multi-layered approach,
operating at local, national, regional and international level, ensuring
consistency between them, and involving representatives from all stakeholder
groups, encouraging their participation in both the monitoring and
accountability elements. Attention should be given to the needs of
discriminated groups and people in vulnerable situations. National governments
must be accountable both to domestic stakeholders for making progress
nationally, and to the international community for contributing to the global
goals and targets. Encouraged by the global ambition, each government will need
to translate the post-2015 agenda into ambitious national action, taking into
account national circumstances and capacity. National planning should be
inclusive and transparent. Updates on progress should take into account the
views of civil society and should be publicly available to ensure broad public
engagement in the post-2015 process.

The
regional level could provide a useful forum for peer review and learning, and
encourage countries to set ambitious targets and stimulate implementation. Work
at the regional level could also help to ensure progress on trans-boundary
issues, such as integrated river basin management, and on shared targets such
as energy efficiency and renewable energy and healthy fish stocks. At the
global level, progress towards the global goals and targets should be assessed
on the basis of national reports, augmented by other reports, for example on
specific goals or themes.

The
UN's High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development is the primary forum
in this context and has a key oversight role for maintaining political
commitment and facilitating a review of progress and best practices, including
recommendations for further action at national or international level. The Forum
could make full use of the experience of the Global Partnership for Effective
Development Cooperation, which offers useful methodologies, including
country-led multi-stakeholder dialogue, data gathering and monitoring, which
demonstrate the transformational potential of an inclusive monitoring process
on behaviours and levels of ambition. It should be noted that a number of other
sectoral UN bodies can provide important inputs for monitoring and review of
the post-2015 agenda, and already monitor implementation of existing
international commitments. The Global Sustainable Development Report could
provide a comprehensive overview of progress. The work of the Development
Cooperation Forum should also be taken into account and the different UN bodies
should feed into a "one-UN" approach to reporting.

Within the wider efforts to
ensure sound monitoring and review, a modernised OECD/DAC measurement framework
should serve the post-2015 agenda by allowing the tracking of external finance
for all global goals in a coherent fashion. It should also properly valorise
non-grant finance and set the right incentives for the provision of development
finance. The December 2014 DAC High-Level Meeting made progress in adapting to
today's practice of external development finance and removing disincentives to
lend to countries most in need. Continued progress is needed on the outstanding
work-strands.

Effective monitoring, review and
accountability depend on reliable data and informative indicators of progress
that can be compared between countries and regions. A core set of appropriate
and results-oriented indicators, going beyond GDP and allowing both
quantitative and qualitative measurement of progress should be established. The
European Commission supports the UNSG's proposal to develop indicators through
a technical expert-led process guided by the UN system, to which the EU stands
ready to contribute. Progress reports should be based on open, reliable and
timely data, principally drawing on national statistical systems, and wherever
possible disaggregated by levels and groups.

To support this
improved data availability and quality is needed. Opportunities provided by
technological progress, in particular new information and communication
technologies, to exploit large volumes of data ("big data") and to
strengthen real-time monitoring and disaggregated data gathering, should be
harnessed. In addition to socio-economic data, geo-spatial information (such as
data retrieved from the EU Copernicus programme, the Global Earth Observation
System of Systems and the Global Climate Observing System) as well as in situ
monitoring can also make a contribution. The global trend towards more open
data represents an opportunity to improve transparency, government efficiency,
evidence-based policy-making and accountability.

A "data
revolution" – the transformation of how data is produced and used to drive
sustainable development – would increase transparency and public access and
strengthen quality and comparability of national official statistics, and
harness research and technologies for data collection and analysis. Tracking
progress must be manageable, including for LDCs, without reducing the
transformative ambition of the agenda. Extra effort and innovative approaches
need to be taken to collect data in conflict-affected and fragile settings.

The EU remains
committed to the establishment and implementation of a strong and ambitious
monitoring, accountability and review process. The lessons from the Europe 2020
Strategy could be useful for monitoring and review, as the EU has established
indicators to determine and compare progress between Member States and give
guidance to help Member States speed up progress towards the targets.

V. THE WAY FORWARD

Based on previous
Council Conclusions on a transformative post-2015 agenda, this Communication
will inform EU positions in preparation for the Third Financing for Development
Conference in Addis Ababa in July 2015 and the Post-2015 UN Summit in New York in September 2015. It will also contribute to the preparation of the 21st
Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris in December 2015. The EU and its Member States will continue to develop more detailed
common positions during the negotiations, so as to enable the EU to speak with
one voice[20].

The EU is committed to
playing a constructive role in intergovernmental negotiations throughout 2015 and to contributing
to the adoption of a truly transformative agenda. The European Commission
stands ready to play its part in fully implementing this agenda both within the
EU and through its external action, assisted where necessary by the European
External Action Service, in cooperation with all its partners.

[1]
A/68/970,"Report of the Open Working Group of the General Assembly on
Sustainable Development Goals", 12 August 2014.

[2]
A/69/315\*, "Report of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on
Sustainable Development Financing", 15 August 2014.

[3]
A/69/700, "The Road to Dignity by 2030: Ending Poverty, Transforming All
Lives and Protecting the Planet", 4 December 2014.

[4]
COM(2013)92, "A decent life for all: Ending poverty and giving the world a
sustainable future", 27 February 2013.

[5]
COM(2013)531, "Beyond 2015: towards a comprehensive and integrated
approach to financing poverty eradication and sustainable development", 16
July 2013.

[6]
COM(2014)335, "A decent life for all: From vision to collective action",
2 June 2014.

[7]
11559/13 "The overarching post-2015 agenda", 25 June 2013.

[8]
17553/13 "Financing poverty eradication and sustainable development beyond
2015", 12 December 2013.

[9]
16827/14, "A transformative post-2015 agenda", 16 December 2014.

[10]
COM(2010)2020, "Europe 2020. A strategy for smart, sustainable and
inclusive growth", 3 March 2010.

[11]
Article 208 (1), Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union: "…The Union shall take account of the objectives of development cooperation in the policies that
it implements which are likely to affect developing countries".

[12]
Decision n° 1386/2013/EU on a General Union Environment Action Programme to
2020 "Living well, within the limits of our planet", 20 November
2013.

[13] A/CONF.219/7,
"Report of the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed
Countries", 9-13 May 2011.

[14] Examples
are the New Deal for engagement with fragile states (2012) and the Principles
for Good International Engagement in Fragile States and Situations (OECD,
2007).

[15]
COM(2014)111, "Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of
the Council setting up a Union system for a supply chain due diligence
self-certification of responsible importers of tin, tantalum and tungsten,
their ores, and gold originating in conflict-affected and high risk
areas", 5 March 2014.

[16]
See http://bangladeshaccord.org/.

[17]
See http://ec.europa.eu/environment/biodiversity/business/index\_en.html.

[18]
See https://www.unglobalcompact.org/.

[19]
COM(2011)0743, " The Global Approach to Migration and Mobility", 18
November 2011 and 9417/2012 Council Conclusions on "The Global Approach to
Migration and Mobility", 3 May 2012.

[20]
See 16827/14, "A transformative post-2015 agenda", 16 December 2014.

ANNEX

This
annex lists a series of possible actions that could contribute to the effective
implementation of the post-2015 agenda. It also presents proposals for actions which
could be carried out specifically by the EU, provided that there is an agreement
on the overall framework and its means of implementation.

1) An enabling and
conducive policy environment at all levels

Actions for all:

·
Establish
an enabling policy environment to achieve specific Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) and targets through an integrated and coherent set of policy
measures, based on the principles of human rights, good governance, rule of
law, support for democratic institutions, inclusiveness, non-discrimination,
and gender equality.

·
Exchange experience of
effective economic instruments, regulatory frameworks and enforcement, national
policies and best sustainability practices (such as fiscal incentives, review
of subsidies and procurement).

·
All
developed countries and emerging economies should commit to setting up systems
to systematically assess the impact on developing countries of adopting new
policies.

·
Encourage
public bodies to procure sustainably as much as possible, for example by using
criteria to create and increase demand for sustainable products and services and
encourage the exchange of best practices.

·
Increase
the coherence of policies at national and international level to ensure that
they support the implementation of the post-2015 agenda.

·
Support the development and
strengthening of enabling policy and institutional environments in other
countries, including those in fragile situations.

·
Establish
independent and efficient judicial systems.

·
Strengthen
international agreements and frameworks and their implementation (including
ILO's fundamental conventions, multilateral environmental agreements,
agreements on global public goods, the "10 Year Framework of Programmes
for Sustainable Consumption and Production", the International Health
Regulations and the UN framework for disaster risk reduction),to ensure better
integration and coordination between them.

·
Support
the development of international sustainability standards.

Work
to ensure that multilateral institutions operate coherently and in
complementarity with each other.

EU actions:

In addition:

·
Promote
increased international use of the Policy Coherence for Development approach.

·
Ensure
coherence between the post-2015 agenda and the Europe 2020 Strategy for growth
and jobs, notably regarding climate change, renewables, oceans, waste and
resource efficiency.

·
Actively
contribute to dialogues and assist partner countries in their efforts to
strengthen their regulatory frameworks, judicial systems, economic instruments,
social conditions, sustainable procurement, and other related policies and to
implement and enforce legislation, including through international
partnerships, exchange of knowledge and capacity building.

·
Contribute
to strengthening international agreements and their implementation, including
agreements on global public goods, e.g. climate, biodiversity or oceans, to
ensure better integration and coordination between them (in particular the
range of multilateral environmental agreements)

·
Contribute
to the development of international sustainability standards.

2) Develop capacity to deliver the agenda

Actions for all:

·
All
international cooperation partners should support others in developing their
capacity through learning initiatives and networks.

·
Monitor
and review specific results on capacity development and integrate them into
policy dialogue where appropriate.

EU actions:

In addition:

·
Improve
and mainstream support for capacity development, particularly for LDCs, in all
sectors of cooperation, through a multi-stakeholder perspective.

·
Facilitate
peer-to-peer learning processes and networking through initiatives such as
twinning and institutional development programmes.

·
Improve
its systems to support capacity development with particular regard to
multi-stakeholders partnerships.

·
Use
processes such as the Europe 2020 review to share best practices and build
knowledge and awareness across EU Member States in order to accelerate progress
towards EU implementation of the SDGs.

3) Mobilisation and effective use of domestic public
finance

Actions for all:

·
Commit
to achieving optimal levels of government revenue (measured as tax to GDP
ratio), including by:

o
strengthening
the necessary institutions, including developing capacity in tax
administrations and the judiciary;

o
promoting
the development and use of public assessment tools or initiatives to improve
revenue collection;

o
reforming
national tax systems to broaden the tax base and ensure fair, just and
sustainable tax policies;

o
enacting
national regulations to combat illicit financial flows;

o
enacting
national regulations to implement the minimum standards of good governance in
the tax area (transparency, exchange of information and fair tax competition),
to tackle tax evasion, tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning and to avoid
harmful tax competition;

o
participating
in regional and international initiatives of tax cooperation, to ensure a level
playing field in taxation for local and international companies;

o
setting
up and implementing a global standard for the automatic exchange of tax
information, paying specific attention to supporting LDCs;

o
implementing
recommendations on base erosion and profit shifting; and

o
enhancing
the voice of civil society for transparency and accountability.

Have in place
systems for the efficient, sustainable and transparent management of all
state resources, including by:

o
strengthening
the institutions with responsibility for budgetary planning and oversight,
including independent national supreme audit institutions, parliaments and
civil society;

o
promoting
the development and use of public assessment tools or initiatives to improve
the public finance management system and formulating and implementing credible,
relevant, government-owned and led public finance reform programmes;

o
ensuring
the long-term sustainability and transparency of government finances, including
through implementing debt and treasury management strategies, carrying out
sustainable and transparent management of natural resources revenue, and
strengthening relevant institutions;

o
ensuring
that all state resources are used coherently to achieve the agreed objectives,
by incentivising sustainable investments and approaches and avoiding spending
on environmentally harmful subsidies;

o
investing
in environmental management and building ecosystem, climate and disaster  resilience
to reduce costs of clean ups and reconstruction.

EU actions:

In addition:

Increase
assistance for nationally driven efforts to implement public finance
policy, administration reforms, and to promote a transparent, cooperative
and fair international tax environment. This includes supporting capacity
building: on public finance-related topics; for deeper analysis of the
impacts of policy changes; and on international tax standard setting.
Review
implementation of the Accounting and Transparency Directives, including
country-by-country reporting from multinational companies, no later than
2018.
Pursue policies
to fight base erosion and profit shifting, implement the automatic
exchange of information, and improve accountability and financial
inclusion.

4) Mobilisation and effective use of international
public finance

Actions for all:

All countries
should provide their fair share to support poorer countries in reaching
internationally agreed objectives:

i. The EU and all
high-income countries should provide 0.7% of their GNI as Official Development
Assistance (ODA).

ii. Upper middle-income
countries and emerging economies should commit to increasing their contribution
to international public financing and to specific targets and timelines for
doing so.

iii. The timeline for
achieving these targets should be decided as part of the overall commitment of
the countries mentioned in i) and ii) above. The EU would be ready to go
further, and make quicker progress, provided the above mentioned countries are
also willing to take similarly ambitious commitments.

iv. As part of that
commitment, the EU and all high-income countries should deliver on the UN
target of providing 0.15% of their GNI for development assistance to LDCs,
while upper middle-income countries and emerging economies should also increase
their assistance going to LDCs.

All donors,
including emerging donors, should increasingly deliver development
assistance according to development effectiveness principles.

EU actions:

In addition:

·
The
EU and its Member States are committed to improving the effectiveness of their
development cooperation policies, in line with their commitments under the
Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC) and to
following the Busan aid and development effectiveness principles.

·
The
EU will implement the specific commitments agreed under the GPEDC, with a focus
on: improving transparency; reducing donor fragmentation; strengthening
delivery, accountability, measurement and demonstration of sustainable results;
implementing the agreed approach in situations of conflict and fragility; and
deepening public private engagement to increase development impact.

·
The
EU will work to support streamlining and reduce the fragmentation of the
international aid architecture, including international finance for global environmental
goods.

·
The
EU remains committed to fulfilling its obligations under international
conventions including on climate change, biodiversity, oceans and other key
global issues and calls on all countries to do the same. In this context, the
EU has decided already for the period 2014-2020 to dedicate 20% of its budget
to climate-related projects and policies.

5) Stimulate trade to
eradicate poverty and promote sustainable development

Actions for all:

·
All
developed countries and emerging economies need to provide, as the EU already
does, duty-free and quota-free access to all products from all LDCs, except
arms and ammunition.

Implement the Bali package, including the Trade Facilitation Agreement and the elements that relate to
LDCs:

o
Implementation
of the World Trade Organisation guidelines on preferential rules of origin for
LDCs.

o
Promoting
the operationalisation of the previously agreed Services Waiver for LDCs.

Making progress
to address cotton "ambitiously, expeditiously and specifically"
within the agriculture negotiations.

·
Increase
aid for trade in support of beneficiary countries' development priorities,
transparently and consistent with development effectiveness principles.

·
Assess
the sustainability impact of trade agreements and their impact on LDCs.

·
Integrate
the sustainable development dimension into trade policy, including through the
systematic inclusion of sustainable development provisions in trade agreements,
including on labour and environmental aspects.

·
Promote
multilateral and plurilateral initiatives, such as the negotiations to
liberalise trade in environmental goods and services and facilitate trade and
investment therein.

·
Intensify
work in international standard bodies (such as the International Standards
Organisation, ISO) in relation to trade and sustainability.

·
Renew
collective efforts to promote intra-regional trade, notably in Africa, including trade facilitation measures.

·
Strengthen
international measures to combat illegal trade, such as the fight against
illegal trade in wildlife, illegal logging and illegal, unreported and
unregulated fishing.

EU actions:

In addition:

·
Monitor
and report on the application of the EU Generalised Scheme of Preferences.

·
Continue
the systematic inclusion of sustainable development provisions in all trade
agreements, including on labour and environmental aspects, and pursue the
effective implementation of these provisions.

·
Work
to further the negotiation of a plurilateral agreement on environmental
products and services (the "Green Goods Agreement").

·
Deliver
on its commitment to maintain funding for trade facilitation, including
contributing to an international trade facilitation facility.

·
Improve
access to Aid for Trade for LDCs.

·
Review
the EU Aid for Trade Strategy in the light of the outcomes of the post-2015
negotiations.

·
Continue
to promote innovative integrated multi-stakeholder partnerships to improve
labour, health and safety conditions for workers.

·
Continue
to support regional trade integration efforts in all parts of the world,
notably by providing trade-related technical assistance and capacity building,
for instance for trade facilitation, to strengthen sanitary and phytosanitary
systems, industrial standards and quality control systems, or to support
participation in sustainability schemes and standards.

6)
Drive transformative change through science, technology and innovation

Actions for all:

·
Increase
bilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation on science, technology and
innovation, and solutions-oriented research.

·
Raise
awareness of how to use Intellectual Property Rights to stimulate growth for
government, business and researchers.

·
Strengthen
capacities in science, technology, innovation, research and digitisation in
developing countries and promote worldwide and cross-sector mobility and open
access to publications from publicly-funded research.

Improve access to
education and training in developing countries to support the development
the skills needed for innovation, job creation and growth.

·
At
UN level, facilitate access to information on existing technology and promote
coherence and coordination between technology-related mechanisms including any
new technology mechanisms.

EU actions:

In addition:

·
Promote
open access to publications, and on a pilot basis data, resulting from research
funded under Horizon 2020.

·
Facilitate
knowledge sharing and build research capacity including in developing
countries.

·
Support
innovation and technology development in collaboration with low- and
middle-income countries, in areas such as health and poverty-related diseases,
sustainable agriculture and food security, and through community-level
innovation.

·
Support
innovation and technology transfer capacities through higher education
programmes.

·
Work
in a constructive and open manner with all other partners on the proposals to support
science, technology, innovation, and capacity building for LDCs.

·
Continue
to contribute to relevant global initiatives like the Global Earth Observation
System of Systems, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Global
Alliance for Chronic Diseases, and further support relevant EU collaborations
with non-EU partners, such as the European and Developing Countries Clinical
Trials Partnership 2.

·
Support
training on the use of intellectual property rights for government, business
and researchers, and technical assistance to government for relevant
legislative projects.

7) Mobilising the domestic and international private
sector

Actions for the private sector:

·
Protect
human rights including through addressing labour conditions, health and safety
at work, access to social protection, voice, empowerment and gender-related
issues.

·
Adopt
and promote sustainable and responsible investment models and progressively
improve the sustainability and performance of products and services.

·
Engage
in emissions trading schemes and contribute to the mobilisation of financing
for climate change adaptation and biodiversity conservation.

·
Report
comprehensively on social and environmental performance and work conditions and
share best practices through international business networks.

·
Develop
reliable and comparable sustainability information, standards, schemes (such as
fair trade schemes) and labels on products and services that can provide
economic, environmental and social benefits.

·
In
the financial sector, use innovative methods to extend financial inclusion,
including to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises.

·
Develop
and implement corporate policies to enhance transparency, fight corruption,
prevent bribery and tax evasion and develop systems to assess risks and
mitigate potential adverse impacts when operating or investing in developing
countries.

Actions for all:

·
Create
a business environment conducive to private sector initiatives, with a
predictable legal framework, stepping up support to micro-, small and
medium-sized enterprises, promoting transitioning from informal to formal
economy, promoting eco-entrepreneurship, empowering women as entrepreneurs and
workers and deepening financial inclusion.

·
Support
the development and deepening of financial markets and the development of
appropriate regulatory frameworks that ensure stability of financial systems
and provide incentives for sustainable investments.

·
Provide
financial and regulatory incentives for responsible business practices and
promote the scaling up of market-based solutions for sustainable development,
for example through regulation and support for eco-design, longer product
lifespan and increased recyclability.

·
Facilitate
private sector engagement, particularly in sustainable energy, sustainable
agriculture, forestry and agribusiness, sustainable infrastructure, green
infrastructure and green economy sectors.

·
Promote
innovative uses of public development financing in order to leverage enhanced
resources to meet sustainable development objectives and support the
development of the local private sector.

Promote the use
and diffusion of sustainability labelling.
Continue to
promote guidelines for sustainability reporting through dialogue with
partner countries and companies.

EU actions:

In addition:

·
Pursue
innovative uses of EU development financing in order to leverage enhanced
resources to meet development objectives and support the development of the
local private sector in LDC economies.

·
Promote
the participation of businesses in the use and diffusion of sustainability
schemes and labels both within the EU and around the world.

·
Promote
the integration of biodiversity considerations into business practice and the
role of businesses in biodiversity conservation.

·
Promote
sustainability responsibility and reporting (including through corporate social
responsibility guidelines) through dialogue with partner countries, companies
and social partners.

·
Continue
to require large companies to disclose information on policies, risks and
outcomes regarding environmental matters, social and employee-related issues,
respect for human rights, anti-corruption and bribery, and diversity.

·
Support
the development of sustainable transport infrastructure, the implementation of
international conventions and agreements on transport and trade facilitation;
and the development of necessary productive capacity to improve transport
competitiveness. The Resource Efficiency roadmap proposes a low-carbon,
resource-efficient, secure and competitive transport system to be in place by 2050
that promotes a clean, modern and efficient transport network.

·
Support
regional cooperation efforts.

8) Harnessing the positive effects of migration

Actions for all:

·
Develop
coherent and comprehensive policies for managing migration in all its aspects.

·
Reduce
the cost of remittances paid by migrants to less than 3% as well as reducing
recruitment costs.

·
Increase
possibilities for cross-border skills and qualifications recognition and
portability of earned benefits.

·
Take
action to reduce forced migration, including building resilience to external
shocks, including conflict and climate change.

·
Protect
rights of migrant workers in compliance with the ILO's norms and standards and
rights of displaced persons.

·
Support
migrant integration.

EU actions:

In addition:

·
Improve
the management of migration through operational cooperation with partner
countries, e.g. through regional and bilateral dialogues under the EU external
migration policy.

9) Monitoring, accountability
and review

Actions for all:

·
Translate
the post-2015 agenda into national action, taking into account national
priorities, circumstances and capacity. The level of global ambition should
encourage ambitious national target-setting.

·
Set
up a planning process for implementing the post-2015 agenda that is inclusive
and transparent with updates on progress being publicly available to encourage
broad public engagement in the post-2015 process.

·
Raise
awareness amongst citizens of the post-2015 agenda and actions being taken at
national and international level.

·
Commit
to a multi-stakeholder review process; engage stakeholders fully in the
monitoring process and set up systems for accountability at national level.

·
Engage
in monitoring, mutual accountability and review at global level that assesses
progress towards the goals and targets on the basis of national reports,
augmented by other reports for instance on specific goals or themes, such as
natural capital accounting.

·
Work
together on identifying targets that are off-track globally, regionally, or for
specific countries, and propose remedial action.

·
Improve
data availability, quality and analysis, e.g. by supporting data collection and
monitoring efforts, strengthen real-time monitoring and gathering of
disaggregated data, and encourage open data policies.

EU actions:

In addition:

·
Actively
engage in setting up and implementing a strong and ambitious monitoring,
accountability and review process at global level, share EU experience in this
area and provide key contributions to the Global Sustainable Development
report.

·
Step
up capacity building in the field of statistics and monitoring in partner
countries. Contribute through EU research and innovation to close gaps in
statistical and geospatial data availability worldwide and to formulate
evidence-based policy advice.

·
Continue
to engage stakeholders in implementing and reviewing progress towards the SDGs,
taking into account the needs of discriminated groups and people in vulnerable
situations.

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