VERTICAL INTEGRATION
Tuesday, 18 August 2020
In the context of the national strategy for sustainable development adopted in 2017, technical working groups with representatives of each level of governance are set-up to prepare the decision of the Interministerial Conference for Sustainable Development. There is one administrative steering group, a working party on NSDS, a working party on sustainable public procurements and a working party on international policy.
On the level of local governments, Local Agenda 21 initiatives have been developed by numerous municipalities. The municipalities also receive support of their respective regional government to boost sustainable development.
In Wallonia, the Walloon Region has organised training sessions for local authorities in order to integrate SDGs in their “strategical transversal plans”. Dedicated tools are available for helping them implementing SDGs in their policies and projects (see chapter SDGs).
In Flanders, VVSG, the Flemish Association of Cities and Munipalities launched a large series of initiatives. Recently, three actions are put at the forefront :
- Awareness raising video ‘We the mayors for the SDGs’. Flemish mayors explain in clear language (and in their own dialect) what the SDGs are about. Available in English and French.
- Update of the publication ‘Local support for global challenges’. For each SDG, we give some examples of local actions and we add good local practices. Available in English.
- Publication The SDGs in municipal international cooperation. SDG 17 with a focus on international partnerships and solidarity is a crucial element of the Agenda 2030. This publication gives examples and ideas on how to integrate the SDGs into international cooperation between local governments. The publication is available in English and Spanish and soon also in French.
In the context of the 2009 review of the EU-SDS Belgium has actively participated in the Friends of the Presidency meetings.
The 2010 Federal Act on SD extends the duration of the new FPSD from four to five years to better match with the respective EU and regional legislation cycles.
The first Flemish strategy for SD was based on the European Strategy for SD (EU SDS).
Where the interaction with the European and multilateral level is concerned, existing coordination platforms for political and strategic orientation (e.g. Coordination Multilateral - Coormulti and DG Europe - DGE) will continue to serve as mechanisms to determine the common Belgian position by taking on board the positions of the federal and federated entities
The renewed EU Strategy for Sustainable Development (EU SDS), adopted in June 2006, foresees that Member States bi-annually report about how they address the priorities of the EU SDS. Belgium has published its first national report on implementing the EU SDS in June 2007. In the context of the 2009 review of the EU-SDS Belgium has actively participated in the Friends of the Presidency meetings.
The 2010 Federal Act on SD extends the duration of the new FPSD from four to five years to better match with the respective EU and regional legislation cycles.
The first Flemish strategy for SD was based on the European Strategy for SD (EU SDS).