NextGenerationEU and the Sustainable Development Goals

By integrating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into the European Semester since December 2019, a clear trend towards harmonization of EU and UN agendas has been initiated. Accordingly, country reports issued include an analysis by the European Commission of the application of the SDGs on the part of EU member states. Coordination efforts have also been incorporated into the NextGeneration EU (NGEU) project and notably, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). Harmonizing the objectives of the NGEU with the developmental and climate change goals defined at UN level, moreover, has been a main driving force behind the EU’s health response in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper explores pattern of cooperation between the EU and the UN in such areas and specifically, alignment of EU priorities with those defined at the level of the UN and explores how this affects patterns of European economic and fiscal governance.