5 September 2017

Harnessing the IOE-European Commission partnership to advance the SDGs

The IOE recognises that policy coherence and cooperation are essential to the achievement of the 2030 Development Agenda, and understands the value of investing in regional and global partnerships in supporting the private sector contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 17.

This investment is brought to bear in the many partnerships and joint initiatives we have with other organisations, including the European Commission, to strengthen the capacity of representative employers’ organisations to contribute to the sustainable development of their nations.

Among the many benefits to our members, the IOE-European Commission partnership affords a seat at the table, alongside other civil society actors (CSOs) and local authorities (LAs), at the Commission’s Policy Forum on Development (PFD).

You may recall from previous communications that the PFD aims to facilitate dialogue on cross-cutting issues directly related to the role of civil society organisations, including employers’ organisations and local authorities, as relevant development actors; promotes policy debate, consultation and exchange of information and experiences on the main EU policies and initiatives in the development field; and provides a space for regular update and peer review by all actors.

We would like to share, via the links in the side panel, the outcomes of the recent EU PFD Forum in July following the adoption of the EU Consensus on Development,  as well as the minutes of the June Meeting of the PFD Task Team, in which the IOE also participated.

Evaluating the effectiveness of cooperation requires multi-stakeholder feedback. IOE members are invited to contribute their views on the effectiveness of EU partnerships in advancing the 2030 Agenda by taking the PFD interactive survey which may be accessed via the link in the side panel.

IOE-European Commission cooperation is ongoing; the next regional PFD  partnership event will take place in Jordan from 3-4 October 2017. The agenda and the concept note may be downloaded via the links in the side panel.  Information on other joint initiatives with the European Commission may be found on the dedicated webpage of the IOE website (please refer to the link in the side panel).

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or comments.