EU Member State experiences with sustainable development indicators

At Gothenburg in 2001, the European Council agreed a European Union strategy for sustainable development, based on the principle that the economic, social and environmental effects of all policies should be taken into account in decision-making. The Strategy also foresees the development of a set of sustainable development indicators. Most Member States have drawn up national SD strategies, and identified a set of indicators for these strategies. These reflect the Member States' own priorities, and may differ from those at EU level. This report is a study of the experiences of the 15 EU countries in this area. Over time, as priorities change, new issues emerge and new international commitments are entered into, the sets of indicators may change. This study provides an overview of the process up to October 2002.