(AGENPARL) - Roma, 8 Maggio 2026 - The second stage of the Festival of Sustainable Development, “European Leadership for the Future: Civil Society at the Helm of the Post-2030 Agenda”, held in Brussels for the first time.

Hosted by the Civil Society Organisations’ Group of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and promoted by the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS ETS), the event took place at a delicate moment for the future of the EU. Instead of accelerating, Europe risks slowing down precisely in the areas of the ecological transition and the protection of social rights outlined by the Green Deal and the European Pillar of Social Rights.

On that occasion, Agenparl interviewed Cillian Lohan, President of the Civil Society Organisations’ Group, EESC.

«The most important thing now for the sustainable agenda to move forward is for civil society to come together and be a driving force for it.

Here at the European Economic and Social Committee, we’re the institutional home of civil society.

And what we’re doing is organizing ourselves with a very clear message: that the sustainable agenda, the 2030 goals, are still the most important way for a bright, sustainable future and a competitive future for the European Union.»