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Aligning the European Recovery with the SDGs - Belgium as a case study

By Andrija Erac

SDSN Belgium and CIFAL Flanders organised an online event about the alignment of the European Recovery with the SDGs, discussing both the EU recovery as a whole and the recovery plans in Belgium in particular. The event included speakers from the European Commission ( EN / NL ), the Belgian federal government , the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) and the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) , as well as representatives from CIFAL Flanders , UNITAR and SDSN.

To recover from the COVID-19 crisis, the EU has made €672.5 billion available through its Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). Belgium and the other Member States are preparing recovery and resilience plans to benefit from this support; this webinar focused on the role of the SDGs in those plans. The event was opened by Peter Wollaert , Managing Director of CIFAL Flanders, who introduced the key question: how SDG proof will the EU recovery be?

Nikhil Seth , UN Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNITAR, stressed that the SDGs are the ideal framework to guide the recovery from COVID-19. The crisis calls for a recovery driven by transformative public investments, and according to Mr. Seth, the world urgently needs a transition in five areas: health systems, energy systems, agriculture, education, and urban settlements. Mr. Seth further indicated that the European recovery plans provide a historic opportunity to invest in the future. The Agenda 2030 provides a framework for this future and should form the foundation of the recovery.

María Cortés Puch , Vice-President of SDSN Networks, welcomed the transitions outlined by Mr. Seth, and pointed out that these are also reflected in SDSN’s 6 Transformations framework. Ms. Cortés Puch further mentioned that SDSN is very pleased that the EU is not compromising, in the face of the pandemic, on its vision of a green, prosperous and inclusive Europe. Meeting the SDGs in Europe will be a matter of strong political leadership, and ambitious policies. SDSN has launched an umbrella network, SDSN Europe , to co-create solutions and share knowledge to achieve the SDGs.

Veerle Nuyts , European Semester Officer for Belgium and member of the RECOVER Task Force of the European Commission, gave a presentation on the Recovery & Resilience Facility (RRF) and its connection to the SDGs. Ms. Nuyts described the RRF as ‘solidarity in action’ and as a historic opportunity for the EU and its Member States to recover in a sustainable way, accelerating the SDGs’ delivery. Each Member State should take full ownership of this opportunity and engage in a policy dialogue with key stakeholders, such as social partners and civil society. Ms. Nuyts also explained key requirements for the national recovery and resilience plans:

  • The plans have to respond to the six pillars of the RRF: green transition, digital transformation, health & resilience, policies for the next generation, social & territorial cohesion, and smart, sustainable and inclusive growth & jobs. Ms. Nuyts mentioned that the six pillars appear to match up with SDSN’s 6 Transformations framework. The 2019 and 2020 Country-Specific Recommendations issued to Member States in the context of the European Semester will be used to assess the recovery and resilience plans.
  • The plans should support the green transition: 37% of expenditure should support climate objectives.
  • Each reform and investment project must respect the ‘do no significant harm to the environment’ principle. The Commission has recently published guidance on this principle.
  • The plans should also demonstrate a high level of ambition to support the digital transition: 20% of expenditure should go to this transition.
  • The RRF is also a tool to address common Member State challenges. For example, Member States are invited to include cross-border, multi-country projects in their plans. These projects contribute to the scaling up of the EU’s green and digital capacities.

[Ms. Nuyts' presentation]

Thomas Dermine , Belgian State Secretary for the Recovery Programme, described Belgium’s recovery plan as an opportunity to address five main challenges: sustainability, digitalisation, mobility, solidarity, and productivity. A first draft of the investment component of the recovery plan has been submitted to the European Commission, while the reforms component is currently being prepared. The upcoming months will be used to exchange with the Commission and other institutions to assess the impact of the plan. Examples of projects included in the draft are offshore wind development, transport for hydrogen, digitalisation of public services and railway infrastructure. The State Secretary stressed that the recovery plan is not a ‘back-to-normal shortcut’, but an opportunity to address taboos. In this context, Mr. Dermine mentioned that the framework of the SDGs is very relevant, and helps to take a holistic approach. Each investment project is now evaluated in light of the 17 SDGs to make sure that all SDGs are covered.
[Mr. Dermine's presentation]

This presentation was followed by a panel discussion, moderated by María Cortés Puch. The panel consisted of the following speakers:

  • Eloïse Bodin , Policy Analyst at the Institute for European Environmental Policy
  • Thomas Dermine , Belgian State Secretary for Recovery Program, Strategic Investments and Scientific Policy
  • Dirk Fransaer , Managing Director VITO
  • Anton Muyldermans , Counsellor to State Secretary Thomas Dermine
  • Veerle Nuyts , European Semester Officer and Member of the RECOVER Task Force of the European Commission

In response to a question on the consultation process for the Belgian recovery plan, Thomas Dermine indicated that it is essential to start investing quickly, leaving less time for an exhaustive consultation process. There will, however, be a consultation of several stakeholders in the upcoming months, such as the Federal Council for Sustainable Development, the Institute for Gender Equality and the Federal Planning Bureau.

Veerle Nuyts presented the Commission’s key recommendations for Belgium in more detail. The recommendations are centred around four main themes: public finances, employment and training, green and digital transition, and business environment. Ms. Nuyts observed that the Commission’s recommendations overlap to a great extent with the findings of the SDSN’s 2020 Europe Sustainable Development Report.

Asked about the key projects that should be prioritised in the recovery plan, Dirk Fransaer discussed the importance of investments with a lasting effect, for example on employability. Mr. Fransaer stressed that the government’s plans for renovations of buildings will not suffice to reach the CO2 emissions reduction targets and that other measures are more in line with the realization of both the SDGs and the specific climate targets.

According to Eloïse Bodin , the COVID-19 crisis has shown that it is important to look beyond GDP indicators for budget planning. The IEEP has published a paper that introduces new sustainability indicators for the European Semester, moving away from a focus on the economic growth.

Anton Muyldermans responded to a question on the external dimension of the ‘do no significant harm’ principle. He agreed that the recovery and resilience plans should avoid negative spillover effects to other countries, and mentioned that the upcoming months will be used to further implement this principle in a dialogue with the European Commission.

Jeffrey Sachs , President of UN SDSN and Professor at Columbia University, provided the closing remarks of the webinar, emphasising that the SDGs offer us a long-term perspective. Mr. Sachs applauded the European Green Deal for its long-term horizon, as well as for its broad coverage and rational bureaucracy. He emphasised that with the Green Deal, Europe is having an exemplary role towards the rest of the world and inspiring other regions to take action. Mr. Sachs concluded by indicating some of the challenges ahead, such as the European-wide coordination of energy policies, the sustainability of agriculture, global supply chain management, the circular economy and digitalisation.