PLANNING FOR A SUSTAINABLE EUROPE? - TU Berlin

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approach to urban issues ..., and (c) promoting the exchange of experience between local
authorities in relation to sustainable transport initiatives.”
5.2.5 The EU’s New Strategy for Sustainable Development
Just in time for the Gothenburg Summit in June 2001, the Commission presented
the Communication “A Sustainable Europe for a Better World: A European Union
Strategy for Sustainable Development” (Commission of the European Communities
2001a, henceforth abbreviated SDS). With this Communication, the Commission
responded to the European Council request at the 1999 Helsinki Summit “to prepare a
proposal for a long-term strategy dovetailing policies for economically, socially and
ecologically sustainable development to be presented to the European Council in June
2001” (p.2). In between Helsinki and Gothenburg, the Lisbon Summit had somewhat
amended the task by setting a new strategic goal for the Union “to become the most
competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable
economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion.” Thus, it was
clear that the key EU development themes of the last few years, i.e. competition, growth,
information economy, employment and cohesion, all had to be worked into the SDS.
The SDS itself is a remarkable document in several respects. After a few
predictable introductory remarks with bold-printed reminders of how “economic growth,
social cohesion and environmental protection must go hand in hand” and of how
sustainable development offers a “positive long-term vision,” we find already the first
new important development theme on the first page: the call for “decoupling
environmental degradation and resource consumption from economic and social