2023 Strategic Foresight Report: SGIs will be critical to balance social, economic and environmental growth

On Thursday 6 July 2023, the European Commission presented the fourth Strategic Foresight Report, focusing on “Sustainability and people’s wellbeing at the heart of Europe’s Open Strategic Autonomy”.

Highlighting key social and economic challenges and proposing key areas for action, this 2023 Strategic Foresight Report articulates pathways to a sustainable and fair Europe.

Following the presentation, SGI Europe General Secretary Valeria Ronzitti commented:

“SGI Europe welcomes the 2023 Strategic Foresight Report. Focusing on the need to bridge social, economic and environmental challenges, it rightly puts forward key actions to boost social cohesion, reinforce the EU’s internal and external policies, further improve the investment framework across the EU and propose ways to measure well-being beyond GDP.”

“SGIs – services of general interest – will remain instrumental in anticipating and addressing the challenges highlighted in the Strategic Foresight Report. Active in essential sectors such as energy and water distribution, social services, healthcare, public administration or public transport, they will play a central role in guaranteeing that social, economic and environmental growths go hand-in-hand.”

“The open and inclusive approach to foresight will be a key legacy of the von der Leyen Commission. Through participatory workshops and by integrating references to the Fit for Future platform’s opinion on Ensuring a future-proof regulatory framework for the Single Market, the yearly foresight exercise contributes to bringing further legitimacy to EU actions. The informal meeting of the European Council in October must be a milestone to anchor foresight in the EU decision-making process further.”

(Image: Source: EC - Audiovisual Service)