The new Sustainable Development Strategy identifies seven challenges for a sustainable Europe, in particular social inclusion, global sustainable development, climate change mitigation and sustainable production and consumption. It reaffirms the key principles that should guide sustainable development at the EU level, namely the promotion of fundamental rights, the precautionary principle and the polluter-pays principle.

However, the ETUC regrets that the Council has ignored proposals that have been made by the ETUC along with the Platform of European Social NGOs and the European Environmental Bureau. The Council refused to recognise that increasing the overall employment rate and improving working conditions are essential in order to tackle poverty both in the EU and worldwide, despite the recommendations of the Employment Council of 1 June 2006. The ETUC also regrets that the Council failed to quantify and address the huge investment needs that are required to tackle environmental and social problems, in particular in the areas of transport and housing.

The ETUC is glad that the social partners, which include workers’ organisations, and an enhanced social dialogue are recognised as essential to achieving sustainable production and consumption. “Social dialogue and corporate social responsibility (CSR) should indeed play a key role in sustainable development and the ETUC is keen to enter into reflection with political leaders and the European Commission on that issue. However, the ETUC is strongly opposed to a “public relations” approach to CSR enabling companies to focus on certain social and environmental factors, while ignoring others,” said John Monks, ETUC General Secretary. “The future Commission’s proposals to foster CSR - as requested by the June Council - should not ignore any longer the legitimate concerns of trade unions and NGOs regarding CSR.”