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OCR
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 European 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 European Union Strategy for Sustainable Development, Brussels, European Commission, 2001. 3 https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/general_It, accessed 4 October 2015.
