The drafting of the European Union (EU) Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy is a unique opportunity for the EU to reposition itself as a global leader. Furthermore, the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides a new normative framework for the EU and its Member States. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to guide national policies, international cooperation and internal and external action.

The EU strongly supported the universal nature and the thematic scope of the SDGs and it should lead by example by translating the SDGs into its domestic and external engagement. Yet it is unclear to what extent its Global Strategy and the implementation of the SDGs can – and should be – linked. This high-level panel debates whether the Global Strategy can provide a link between foreign and security policy and sustainable global development.

This public session is the closing panel of the conference ‘The future of EU External Action: towards integrated policy responses for global sustainable development’, hosted by the European Think Tanks Group in Berlin on 1 and 2 March 2016. 

Watch the livestream here. If you're interested in attending the event in Berlin, please email [email protected].

Venue: Neue Mälzerei, Friedenstraße 91, Berlin, 10249, Germany