EU Member States committed themselves to tackling inequalities when they adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the European Consensus on Development (2017) and the Council Conclusions on addressing inequalities in partner countries (2019), and in the common EU response to COVID-19. Some Member States (MS) have also given individual commitments.

Research has shown that inequalities are economically inefficient and hinder social development; tackling inequalities is necessary if we are to achieve all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). CONCORD is committed to supporting the reduction of inequalities both through its members’ work and by following up on the commitments by the EU and its Member States to reduce inequalities through their international cooperation.

This report provides an EU-wide analysis based on an assessment of how Member States’ organisations and their international cooperation strategies respond to the challenge of inequalities.