Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for inviting me to speak at this important forum.

The pandemic presents an unprecedented challenge to societies and economies across the world.

Never before have we seen the responsibility of governments to reinforce resilience and protect people - by guaranteeing their economic, human and social rights - so clearly demonstrated.

Our top priority remains to provide a comprehensive response to the COVID-19 pandemic. That includes strengthening preparedness and resilience for future shocks.

The EU and its Member States are fully committed to accelerating implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as the Addis Ababa Action Agenda.

This is how we can make sure to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs - by 2030. It will be vital for building back stronger and greener after the crisis.

The SDGs are at the heart of European Commission’s policymaking, internal and external, across all sectors.

They serve as our roadmap for the future.

Beyond the short-term response to COVID-19, the EU has taken unprecedented action, to:

• support the recovery;
• stimulate smart, sustainable and inclusive growth;
• create high-quality jobs;
• and promote the green and digital transitions.

This includes the Next Generation EU recovery package, with more than €800 billion to help repair the immediate economic and social damage caused by the pandemic. It will help Europe to be greener, more digital and more resilient for the future.

The EU is equally committed to supporting a sustainable and resilient recovery worldwide, aligned with the SDGs.

We are working with partner countries to:

• support growth and employment;
• boost human development and reduce inequalities;
• strengthen climate resilience;
• and develop markets for green and sustainable products.

A major feature of this work is the Team Europe approach.

This is where the EU, its Member States and development finance institutions work together to increase their impact in supporting the recovery.

Team Europe has contributed more than €40 billion to help partner countries address the economic and social impact of the crisis, including over €3 billion to the COVAX facility. 

Team Europe is working to significantly ramp up donations through COVAX in the second half of 2021.

We recently announced a €1 billion initiative to help develop vaccine and medicine manufacturing capacity in Africa, to meet the challenge of future health crises.

In conclusion, one thing is very clear: the post-pandemic recovery must be transformative.

To that end, the 2030 Agenda must be the compass steering us towards a sustainable global recovery.

We need to make sure that it is fully and properly put into effect, so that ‘no one is left behind’ - anywhere. Thank you.