The EU budget and the sustainable development goals

In Czechia, the European Social Fund Plus is helping people in need to rebuild their lives, starting with a roof over their head. Through the social housing initiative, individuals and families in need can access dedicated housing points in the city of Ostrava, while social workers make regular visits to the new residents to ensure stability. This sustained support has a high success rate, with over 85% of participants maintaining their housing stability. The city’s proactive approach has already changed many lives, with 59 households benefiting from housing and a renewed sense of opportunity. 

In Yemen, EU humanitarian funding averted a serious food security crisis and none of the country’s districts experienced famine throughout 2024. EUR 30 million supported the resumption of the World Food Programme’s emergency assistance in areas controlled by the de facto authorities after nearly one year of pause in general food distributions. In this context of limited resources, the Cash Consortium of Yemen remained a key EU partner. More than half a million people were able to meet their food and basic needs thanks to the multipurpose cash assistance provided by the consortium. 

The EU4health programme delivered measures in 2024 to implement the healthier together initiative, Europe’s beating cancer plan and mental health initiatives, and to address selected health risk factors and health determinants. The programme also funded measures that are producing guidance to improve healthcare access. 

Financed by Erasmus+, the ‘Share the music for inclusive learning in education’ project supported teachers by providing a practical framework and showcasing best practices for managing inclusion and diversity in education. Its primary goal is to offer pre-primary and primary school teachers new knowledge, key competencies and ready-to-use educational materials to effectively use music as a pedagogical tool for inclusive education. Additionally, the project aims to help teachers develop their social and digital skills through its digital repository and online training resources. 

In 2024 under the Ukraine Facility, Ukraine adopted the new demographic development strategy up to 2040. The new law on the corporate governance of state-owned enterprises, and the national strategy for mining action up to 2033 also include measures that encourage gender equality. 

By the end of 2024, the Recovery and Resilience Facility had supported the construction or reconstruction of at least 517 km of the public water supply network in Croatia. 

In Poland, the Just Transition Fund helped reduce energy bills and allowed citizens to benefit from stable, ecological and affordable energy sources. The fund invested in Western Małopolska in the energy efficiency of public buildings and of housing, including by supporting the installation of home insulation, rooftop solar installations and heat pumps. The fund invested EUR 2.4 billion in Silesia and Western Małopolska. 

Under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance, in the area of employment and social inclusion, 21 300 people (out of which 10 870 were women) participated in the youth guarantee scheme in North Macedonia in 2024. With 8 152 people having a successful and timely result, for example 6 672 were employed within four months upon entry, and 1 480 participating in one of the active programmes and measures, the success of the youth guarantee scheme in 2024 rose to 38.2%. The operational plan for active employment programmes and measures and labour market services, and the youth guarantee scheme were implemented, covering 11 194 people, especially young people. 47.4% of the beneficiaries of active employment measures were women, 1.5% were people with disabilities, 67.7% were young people and 4.4% were Roma. 

Through Horizon Europe, the European partnership on innovative small and medium-sized enterprises helps innovative businesses increase their research and innovation capacity and productivity and successfully embed themselves in global value chains and new markets. 

Under the Asylum Migration and Integration Fund, phase 7 of the regional development and protection programme for North Africa is running from 2025 to 2028 with a budget (EU grant amount maximum) of EUR 37.5 million. The main objective of the proposed action is to support non-EU countries in North Africa and across the Atlantic and Mediterranean migration route to consolidate their migration and asylum systems and build their capacity to provide adequate reception, protection and durable solutions for vulnerable migrants, asylum seekers and refugees. 

The LIFE programme SeedNEB project applied solutions from the new European Bauhaus and nature-based solutions in three municipalities: Dunaújváros, Hungary; Potenza, Italy and Lorquí, Spain. The project will demonstrate urban strategies and on-site interventions based on nature such as green roofs and facades. These strategies and interventions can foster biodiversity, reduce the impact of heat waves and improve the well-being of their residents. 

By the end of 2024,  the Recovery and Resilience Facility supported Malta in adopting construction industry standards to reduce waste and improve its treatment according to the waste hierarchy. 

The Innovation Fund is designed to answer this goal and take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. The Grey2Green-II project will install a 200 MW electrolyser for the production of renewable hydrogen. Equally, the eMETHANOLxWSolution – a next-generation tanker vessel powered by e-methanol and wind-assisted propulsion – aims to contribute to the decarbonisation of the maritime industry by demonstrating an innovative combination of foldable suction sails and a dual-fuel engine for a new hybrid tanker vessel. 

Regional fisheries management organisations promote the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources by improving management measures adopted following scientific advice and by promoting healthy tuna stocks in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and through the governance framework established by sustainable fisheries partnership agreements with a number of non-EU countries. 

The European Regional Development Fund planned EUR 9.5 billion to support this goal. For instance, project ARIEM+ aims to support regions in northern Portugal and Spain where wildfires in the last five years have devastated nearly one million hectares of land. Managed from an emergency centre in the Galicia region, in collaboration with the Castilla and León region and the North of Portugal, the project has created an emergency plan to prevent and respond to major disasters such as floods, heavy storms and wildfires. The project aims to benefit around 600 000 people. Through coordinated communications, training and new technology equipment, Spain and Portugal will now be able to join forces when an emergency strikes. The cohesion policy funds provided 75% of the EUR 4 million ARIEM+ budget, while the rest was funded by the regions of Galicia, Castilla and León and the North of Portugal. 

The Common Foreign and Security Policy measures contribute to the preservation of peace, conflict prevention, strengthening of international security, consolidating and supporting democracy, the rule of law and human rights by advising and building capacity on security sector reforms, the rule of law and border management, by supporting mediation and conflict resolution initiatives or by supporting the universalisation and effective implementation of international treaties and conventions addressing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or conventional weapons. 

The EU Space programme, in particular via Copernicus services, has developed numerous partnerships at the global, regional, national and local levels with institutional, non-governmental and private stakeholders.