BASIC INFORMATION
RomaniaThursday, 25 January 2024
Yes, Romania is having in place a National Sustainable Development Strategy since 2018 and an Action Plan since 2022. Through this strategy, Romania establishes its national framework for supporting the 2030 Agenda and implementing the set of 17 SDGs. The strategy supports Romania's development on three main pillars, namely economic, social and environmental. The strategy is citizen-oriented and focuses on innovation, optimism, resilience and the trust that the state serves the needs of each citizen, in a fair, efficient and clean environment, in a balanced and integrated manner. The strategy is structured in three chapters: Chapter I - Introduction presents a recent chronology of the evolution of the concept of sustainable development from an international, European and national perspective, as well as the way in which it has gradually materialized both in the programmatic documents of the UN and the EU, and in the public policies of Romania. Chapter II - Sustainable Development Goals presents the current stage of development of Romania, following the implementation of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development of Romania. Horizons 2013-2020-2030, approved by the Government in November 2008. It reveals the shortcomings found and identifies the specific areas where additional efforts and resources are needed to achieve the convergence objectives and significant approximation to the EU average in the main indicators of sustainable development. Chapter II also presents the national targets for each of the 17 SDGs, namely Horizon 2020 for the expected measures and Targets 2030 for the rational scheduling of efforts aimed at achieving this goal. Chapter III - Implementation and Monitoring presents the decisions to be taken to ensure the operational framework for the implementation and monitoring of the achievement of the specific objectives and targets of the Strategy. The aim is to ensure the coherence of government actions and increase the active involvement of all relevant factors of society and citizen actions, with the motivation to ensure the harmonious combination of the three dimensions of sustainable development for the transformation into a sustainable society. The Action Plan contains 4 priority directions: 1. Strengthening and Expanding the Governance Framework for Development; 2. Supporting the Implementation of the 2030 SDGs through Education and Training Programs for Sustainable Development; 3. Promoting the Principles and Values of the Sustainable Development Concept; 4. Monitoring and Evaluation of the Implementation of the 2030 SDGs |
Department for Sustainable Development – General Secretariat of the Romanian Government
Department for Sustainable Development,
Anda-Monica Giurgiu, Councilor
Monica.giurgiu@gov.ro
The key institution for PCSD is the Interdepartmental Committee for Sustainable Development (2019), that comprises ministers and is headed by the Prime Minister.
The main role is to analyse, at least once per year, the state of Strategy 2030 implementation and find solutions for any blockages that may appear in the process and to approve the annual implementation report elaborated by DSD.
The approved report is also presented to the Sub-Committee for Sustainable Development of Romanian Parliament.
This Sub-Committee was set up in 2016 as part of the Committee for Foreign Policy of the Chamber of Deputies and represents a liaison between the executive branch the government) and legislative branch (Parliament).
DSD established and coordinates the network of sustainable development hubs, consisting of 22 hubs at the level of ministries, around 90 people.
At the midpoint for implementation of the 2030 Agenda, due to the actions carried out and coordinated by the Department of Sustainable Development, Romania now has a strategy and an action plan that holistically tackle the implementation of the 17 SDGs by 2030 and national indicators to monitor progress.
A governance framework for sustainable development was established, coordinated from the center of the Government through a cross-sectoral approach, and recognized regionally and internationally as robust and innovative in support of increasing the effectiveness of public institutions to achieve the SDGs.
A functional inter-institutional network ensures SDGs implementation at all levels and there are mechanisms and tools to streamline implementation through collaboration, partnerships, training and upskilling.
Further, DSD focused on developing mechanisms to ensure policy coherence for sustainable development and, in particular, on aligning policy planning and budgeting in support of the
implementation of the 17 SDGs.
Mechanisms for monitoring implementation progress were also developed: databases, platforms, collaboration agreements whereby ministries, government agencies and other organizations commit to regularly providing high-quality data to strengthen the national data system for sustainable development.
A paradigm shift was also needed for the entire society, therefore Romania’s Sustainable Development Strategy is citizen-oriented and recognizes the importance of raising awareness and enhancing the active engagement of all relevant societal actors. Through awareness raising campaigns and consultations, the Department of Sustainable Development initiated a movement to create a critical mass so that society becomes a partner in the Romania’s Sustainable Development Strategy’s implementation.
In order to incentivize the business sector and civil society to adopt and implement the sustainable development principles and values, the Romanian Sustainability Code was developed and operationalized.
Following the release of its first VNR in 2018, Romania took a comprehensive approach to sustainable development, addressing all 17 SDGs, by adopting the National Strategy for Sustainable Development 2030. In 2022, Romania developed the National Action Plan to implement the Strategy, providing a 2030 roadmap, prioritizing strengthening and improving governance framework, raising awareness through education and training, promoting sustainable development principles, monitoring and evaluating the progress.
To monitor and evaluate Romania's progress in implementing the Strategy, 99 national indicators are overseen by the National Institute of Statistics. These indicators are linked to EUROSTAT indicators or correspond to global indicators of the 2030 Agenda.
To facilitate the implementation of sustainable development principles in the business sector and fulfill the targets outlined in the Strategy, Romania has developed in 2022 the Romanian Sustainability Code. Moreover, an open-data platform has been established to enable reporting entities to share reports and sustainability best practices.
Romania has established a comprehensive governance structure to pursue SDGs, based on multi-level decision-making and cross-sectoral collaboration, which has been endorsed by the OECD.
The highest level of decision-making is represented by the Interdepartmental Committee for Sustainable Development, comprising all ministers and presided over by the Prime Minister, inter-institutional structure overseeing the implementation, monitoring, and review of the Strategy.
For interlinkage and policy coherence, Romania has established 22 sustainable development hubs in all ministries, composed of 90 specialists, which are the same regardless of the electoral cycles. The sustainable development expert for public administration is officially recognized in Romania, a unique approach at the EU level. The first 150 experts completed the training program in 2022, and the target is to train 2,000 experts by 2026.
The Consultative Council for Sustainable Development, composed of 34 specialists from academia, research, and civil society provides guidance to the Department for the Strategy implementation and indicators monitoring.
The Coalition Sustainable Romania is a private initiative serving as a discussion partner for representative segments of civil society, contributing to the implementation and monitoring of the Strategy.
As a recognition of innovation and excellence in 2030 Agenda implementation, in 2021, the Department was honored with the UN DESA award for Enhancing the effectiveness of public institutions to reach the SDGs.
According to the National Institute of Statistics, Romania has achieved 58.2% progress towards implementing the 2030 Agenda, but more effort is needed to ensure successful fulfillment.
Alongside all institutional efforts, sustainable development is about people and requires passion, determination, and hope. Romania is committed to maintaining its position as a regional hub of good practices, but especially as a devoted friend to those working towards the Future we want.
Whole-of-Government Approach
All ministerial areas were involved in the VNR development process, represented by the experts of the Hubs for Sustainable Development Network set up in line ministries and other central public authorities.
The Hubs for Sustainable Development contribution were crucial in the review process, to enable a snapshot and overall picture on the national sectoral policies, strategies and plans that support sustainable development policy coherence and the implementation of the 17 SDGs.
During the development process, the Hubs for Sustainable Development contributed to the development of a common working tool, the SDGs Matrix, an updated table of the National Indicators for
Sustainable Development, linked to global indicators where appropriate, policies, strategies and action plans at national level that support the corresponding SDG targets, as assumed in the Romania’s Sustainable Development Strategy.
Whole-of-Society Approach
Following the dissemination campaigns of the 2030 Agenda and the Romania’s Sustainable Development Strategy, the Department has a database of more than 3,000 sustainable development supporters at national level, ranging from universities, national research and development institutes, local public authorities, regional and local associations, businesses, entrepreneurs, social partners, youth organizations, students and children, NGOs and civil society organizations, including vulnerable groups. Among them, as well as the representatives of Consultative Council for Sustainable Development and Coalition Sustainable Romania, were engaged by the department of Sustainable Development in an active dialogue and collaboration throughout the VNR drafting period.
1st VNR (2018): 19952Voluntary_National_Review_ROMANIA_with_Cover.pdf
2nd VNR (2023): https://hlpf.un.org/countries/romania/voluntary-national-reviews-
2023 VNR Stastical Annex: https://hlpf.un.org/sites/default/files/vnrs/2023/VNR%202023%20Romania%20Report%20Statistical%20Annex.pdf