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MAJA DRAZIÓ
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN EUROPEAN POLICIES
AND PROMOTION OF OWNERSHIP AND PARTICIPATION
The definition of European Union (EU) for sustainable development is: meeting
the needs ofpresent generations without jeopardizing the ability offuture generations
to meet their own needs"". The right on development implies the improvement
of the global life quality, while thorough the sustainable development concepts
should be assured the well-being of every person through the integration of
social, economic and environmental development. The economic, social and
environmental spheres should reinforce each other while their policies should
complement each other. This is ensured through the Strategy for sustainable
development’ which was adopted in 2001. The overall aim of the Strategy
is to identify and develop actions in order to achieve continuous long-term
improvement of quality of life ensuring prosperity, environmental protection
and social cohesion. It is clearly pointed out in the Strategy the importance
of the EU international responsibilities in regard to sustainable development
whose various aspects such as democracy, security, liberty and peace should
be promoted beyond EU borders. This is ensured through the actions of
EuropeAid, which is the Directorate-General within European Commission
and responsible for formulating EU development policy as well as defining
sectoral policies in the field of external aid. The main aim of EuropeAid is
to reduce poverty in the world, to ensure sustainable economic, social and
environmental development and to promote democracy, the rule of law, good
governance and the respect of human rights’.
The quality of dialogue with partner countries and its government and
civil society representatives is a key precondition for establishing national
and regional development cooperation policies and ensure their successful
implementation and sustainability. Therefore partnership and ownership of
development processes by the target population as well as strengthening of
their institutional and administrative capacities in changes management are
guiding principles of donors, not only of EU.
In November 2000, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers
approved the communication of the Commission on the “Policy of the Europe¬
an Community for Development Cooperation”, which sets out a new strategic
1 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eussd/, accessed 4 October 2015.
2 Commission of the European Communities, A Sustainable Europe for a Better World: A Eu¬
ropean Union Strategy for Sustainable Development, Brussels, European Commission, 2001.
3 https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/general_It, accessed 4 October 2015.