In September 2015, in the context of the 70th General Assembly of the United Nations, the "2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" was adopted, which essentially includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 related sub-goals, giving a new dimension to efforts globally towards achieving sustainable development. All countries, developed and developing, share the responsibility for achieving the SDGs. The 2030 Agenda integrates in a balanced way the three dimensions of sustainable development - economic, social and environmental - and captures for the first time the existence of international consensus and common pursuit of the goals of peace, security, justice for all and social inclusion, which are mutually reinforcing in the context of the 2030 Agenda.

Under the 2030 Agenda monitoring mechanism, Member States are encouraged to "conduct regular and comprehensive reviews of progress at national and sub-national levels". These Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) aim to facilitate the sharing of experiences, including successes, challenges and lessons learned, with the aim of accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Cyprus has already prepared and submitted in 2017 the First Voluntary National Report (VNR) on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda as well as the Second Voluntary National Report for the year 2021, which was presented in June 2021 in the context of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development organized every year by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. The coordination for the preparation of the second VNR has been undertaken by DG Growth, with the contribution of both public and private sector bodies, including non-governmental organizations. By submitting the Second VNR, Cyprus presented to the UN Forum the corrective measures taken and launched to improve its performance towards the implementation of the SDGs.

he European Commission (EU) with its Communication "Next steps for a sustainable European future - European action for sustainability" on 22.11.2016 fully committed to lead the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs together with its Member States and in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, while in this communication it was also decided to regularly monitor the progress of the SDGs at the European level. The EU's response to the 2030 Agenda includes two axes. The first axis consists of the full integration of the SDGs into the European policy framework and the Commission's current priorities, and the second axis in launching studies to further develop the long-term vision and guide sectoral policies after 2020, in preparation for the long-term implementation of the SDGs. The new multiannual financial framework after 2020 is also to reorient contributions from the EU budget towards achieving the EU's long-term goals.

to monitor the progress of the SDGs at the European level was made with the publication of the document "Sustainable development in the European Union – Monitoring report on progress towards the SDGs in an EU context (2017)", where it was found that at the European level progress was achieved in all the SDGs, while in 2020 the fourth edition entitled "Sustainable Development in the European Union – Monitoring Report on Progress towards SDGs in an EU context – 2020 edition" was published.

The DG Growth based on the Decision of the Council of Ministers no. 85,050, dated 30.5.2018, is responsible for coordinating and monitoring the implementation of Cyprus' commitments regarding the United Nations' 2030 Agenda on SDGs. In this context, DG Growth participates in the relevant Working Party of the Council of the EU (Working Party on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development) and contributes to the preparation of the relevant participation of the Republic of Cyprus in the United Nations Summit. In addition, the DG Growth is responsible for launching measures to address the existing challenges, in order to improve Cyprus's performance regarding the implementation of the SDGs. In this direction, DG Growth will make use of a Technical Assistance grant from the Structural Reform Support Service (SRSS) of the European Commission. The aim is to provide expertise to monitor and improve performance through the integration of the SDGs into National Policies. The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) has undertaken the implementation of this project. The start of the project has started at the beginning of December 2020 and will last 18-21 months. In the context of the implementation of the project, recommendations will be made for the changes and reforms that need to be promoted in the way of governance to adapt and implement the SDGs and by extension the improvement of the sustainability of national policies, the use of scientific tools for monitoring and evaluation and in general more efficient governance.