Post 2015: Global Action for an Inclusive and Sustainable Future

FOREWORD
The development road we have taken
together thus far has been bumpy at times,
but has led us in the right direction. With
the millennium Development Goals
to guide us, we have made impressive
progress towards our destination of a world free
from poverty, and we hope to achieve even more
by 2015, as progress needs to be sustained and even
accelerated. Yet at the same time, we are left with
unfinished business to attend to. the 2015 deadline
presents us with the huge challenge of designing a
new framework, but also with a huge opportunity.
Indeed we now find ourselves at a fork in the road,
with two possible paths to choose. one would see us
carry on as before. but I believe we need to take the
other path, towards an “inclusive and sustainable
future” as the title of this report suggests.
as the world’s largest collective donor of
development aid and a world leader in fighting
climate change and promoting the lowcarbon
economy, the European union takes its
responsibilities in taking up the twin challenges of
poverty eradication and sustainable development
very seriously. that is why the European
commission has developed a single, overarching
vision for an Eu position on the post-2015
framework which brings together the strands of
poverty, sustainability, equity and security. It is
set out in our policy proposal called A Decent
Life for All: ending poverty and giving the world a
sustainable future.
We understand there is still much ground to cover.
If we are seeking a universal framework from which
everyone can benefit, it is only right that the process
should be inclusive and participatory. Indeed, we
must treat it as a global conversation through which
we can together arrive at a post-2015 development
framework shaped for the world by the world. this
will enable us all to own the process and find the
right way forward, achieving the “global action” the
report calls for.
conversations are a two-way street, enabling us
to speak, but also exposing us to others’ views and
perspectives. this is why this fourth edition of the
European report on Development is most relevant
and welcome.
this independent report – with the wealth
and breadth of knowledge it puts forward and
the quality of the analysis it presents – gives us
a research-based perspective on the post-2015
challenges we face. In many ways, it complements
and supports the work of the commission, as
we share a great deal of common ground. Yet it
certainly challenges us to do better, and to keep
pushing our thinking forward.
I would expect no less from the European report
on Development, which, in just a few years, has
already made its mark as an important contribution
to our work and thinking on development. this
ErD 2013 will certainly feed into our reflection. It
is a timely, informative and valuable contribution to
the global conversation that lies ahead for us as we
set about shaping our common future.
andris piebalgs
commissioner for Development
poSt-2015: Global actIon For an IncluSIvE anD SuStaInablE FuturE
v