THE MOST IMPORTANT GOALS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE WESTERN BALKAN COUNTRIES

Abstract

More efficient use of resources and economy based on the principles of sustainable development presents a development opportunity that will enable long-term socio-economic development. Therefore, the European Union is extremely active in the creation and implementation of environmental policies, with a view to its conservation, prevention from degradation, and quality improvement, because it gives natural resources necessary for the overall development. Numerous directives, regulations, and rules of the European Union in the field of environmental protection have changed over the years, in the direction of introducing complex measures for the protection of the environment and indicators for monitoring sustainable development achievements. The latest in a series of documents governing the issue of sustainable development is Agenda 2030, where the majority of sustainable development goals is directly linked to the environment and focus on the sustainability of natural resources. At the same time, a preliminary Sustainable Development Index Goal (SDG Index) has been developed, summarizing trends of a set of indicators monitoring the achievement of sustainable development goals of Agenda 2030. The subject of the paper is an analysis of strategic documents dedicated to sustainable development and environmental protection in the European Union, with the aim of showing their development path over time.