Opening remarks
- Good morning and welcome to this High-Level Round Table on assessing progress and challenges in implementing the Copenhagen Declaration and giving momentum towards the 2030 Agenda.
- It is my great pleasure to co-chair this session with the Deputy Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Dr Geoffrey Hanley.
- We will begin with our introductory remarks, followed by the keynote from the UN Deputy Secretary-General, Ms Amina Mohammed. Afterward, our moderator, Ms Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, will guide a panel discussion, then we will open the floor for brief interventions before concluding with panellists final reflections.
- Before I give the floor to our distinguished panellists, let me share some reflections.
- Thirty years after the Copenhagen Declaration, the vision of a world free from poverty, built on decent work and social justice remains valid – but unfinished.
- Today, the world is not on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
- To rebuild momentum, we need collective solutions, new approaches at national and international levels.
- Fiscal policy should be better aligned with social goals. Mario Draghi famously made a distinction between “good debt” and “bad debt”.
- Investing in people – in things like education, training, public services – is a precondition for sustainable growth.
- Strengthening institutional capacities and good governance is essential to make social spending more effective and accountable.
- Fair wages and quality jobs, access to public services, fair taxation: this is how we reduce inequalities and rebuild trust.
- To accelerate progress, we need broad coalitions that bring together governments, businesses, social partners and civil society.
- We need policies that work in harmony, and better sharing of knowledge and experience across regions.
- Above all, we need innovative ways to scale up financing for social goals.
- The EU is putting this approach into practice, both at home – with instruments like the European Social Fund+ and the Recovery and Resilience Facility – and abroad, with Team Europe Initiatives.
- I hope we can use this discussion to move from assessing challenges and gaps to identifying concrete ways forward.
- Let me hand over to my co-Chair.
Closing remarks
- Thank you to all speakers and participants for a rich and thoughtful discussion.
- We have heard clear-eyed reflections on the challenges ahead, but also inspiring ideas on how to overcome them.
- What stands out is that progress will only come through shared responsibility, ambition and cooperation.
- I hope we can carry forward the energy of todays debate and turn it into concrete steps that make a real difference for people and communities.
