The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) has released the Europe Sustainable Development Report 2025 (ESDR), assessing Europe’s progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With the new EU leadership (2024-2029) in place, the report highlights the urgent need for renewed commitment as the 2030 deadline nears.

Key Findings
The SDG Index and Dashboards reveal that the EU’s pace of progress has significantly slowed. Between 2020-2023, the SDG progress rate was more than twice as slow (+0.8 points) compared to 2016-2019 (+1.9 points). The report identifies persistent challenges in:
• Social inclusion and inequality (SDG 10)
• Environmental and biodiversity conservation (SDGs 12-15)
• Global partnerships and spillover effects (SDG 17)

Among the top-ranking countries, Finland, Denmark, and Sweden lead the SDG Index. Belgium ranks 16th, showing steady but moderate progress.

Policy Priorities & Recommendations
The report outlines 10 key recommendations for the new EU leadership, urging:

1. A stronger social safety net to reduce poverty and exclusion.
2. Acceleration of net-zero policies with major milestones by 2030.
3. Strengthening local and regional leadership for SDG implementation.
4. Reorienting trade policies to minimise negative global impacts.
5. Enhancing EU diplomacy to lead SDG efforts globally.
6. Reforming the Global Financial Architecture to support development goals.
7. Aligning EU partnerships more closely with SDGs.
8. Mobilising financing for sustainability transformations.
9. Embedding SDGs into all major EU policy frameworks.
10. Institutionalising civil society engagement in SDG strategies.