Priorytety strategii trwałego i zrównoważonego rozwoju Unii Europejskiej

Abstract

The idea of sustainable development originates from the criticism targeted at growth supporting economic policy posing a threat to natural development. The concept itself assumes striving for balanced combination of requirements of social development, economic growth and environmental protection while development decision - making process so that needs of living generations could be met and the needs of future generations could be satisfied. However, it is far from obvious how to pursue this generally justifiable idea. The purpose of the research paper is to have an insight into priority areas of the current European Union Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) and to indicate some dilemmas resulting from the pursuit of the Strategy, including the ones perceived by Poland. Priorities of the SDS concern seven major challenges, such as: climate change and clean energy, sustainable transport, production and consumption in line with rules of sustainable development, environmental protection and natural resources management, public health, social integration, demography and migrations, poverty and challenges of sustainable development in global terms. Although Poland's joining the SDS pursuit benefits us, we often lose much because of our poor ability to take advantage of the Union's official principle to attain the priorities of the Strategy in line with the specificity of the set member country as well as the weakness of our internal policy of pursuing the idea of sustainable development. (original abstract)