The institute is founded by ARDLD - the Romanian Association for Sustainable Local Development - led by Alina Bilan, partner of the law firm ONV LAW and CERS - the European Resource Center for Sustainability, together with the Polish-Romanian Society from Krakow.

"Romania is strengthening its bilateral relations with Poland and recently established the European Institute for Sustainable Development. It facilitates the international transfer of know-how, and the Institute's objectives include the implementation of sustainability principles in public policies. Moreover, it will develop projects with partners from the academic environment, the business environment and in close connection with local authorities and representatives of civil society in Poland", announces the institute.

Also, effective tools will be developed to strengthen the institutional capacity of local authorities in matters related to environmental protection, circular economy, climate change, and other aspects of sustainable development, raising the level of awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and adopting a set of effective actions to implement the SDGs at the local level.

It will act as an accelerator for the implementation of the Global Sustainable Development Goals at the local level in Poland, Romania, and in the member states, but also as a catalyst for collaboration between the central and local public administration, the business environment, the academic environment, and civil society, in order to identify the best solutions for a sustainable future, in accordance with the UN 2030 Agenda.

Among the 193 UN member countries, Poland ranks 9th, with an index for evaluating the progress of performance in meeting the sustainable development objectives of 81.80 (SDG Index score), and Romania ranks 35th - with a score of 77.46.

"The European Institute for Sustainable Development is the first initiative of this type that our country is starting. For me, it is a great privilege to be actively involved in improving the collaboration mechanisms between the European Union states. Each participant in this process, whether mayor, representative of civil society, businessman, or representative of the academic environment, has an important role, because by effectively using each other's experiences and skills, we can learn, evolve and build a sustainable future together for the local communities", declares Alina Bilan.

Recently, the European Institute for Sustainable Development organized, together with academic partners (University of Economics in Krakow, Jagiellonian University in Krakow) and public authorities in Poland (Association of Polish Cities and Wieliczka City Hall) the International Conference Local Government 6.0.- Social Development, Economic Services, and Modern Finances, which was attended by specialists from various fields, teachers, leaders in administration and business, activists, and other personalities from around the world (Poland, Germany, France, Italy, Romania, Ukraine, and the United States of America).

Organized in the Polish city of Wieliczka, the conference provided participants with a platform for debate on the future of local communities, with the stated aim of identifying solutions and defining a new vision for a sustainable future.

On the occasion of this conference, the European Institute for Sustainable Development Awards were established and awarded, aimed at bringing public recognition to the efforts of local public administration, the academic environment, the business environment, and civil society for the promotion and implementation of the SDGs.

The Romanian Association for Sustainable Local Development is a non-profit, non-governmental organization, which focuses on supporting the implementation of the Global Sustainable Development Goals both at the local and national levels. ARDLD campaigns for the 17 objectives, included in Agenda 2030, to become a common concern, both for the Government, central and local authorities, but also for the business environment and civil society organizations.

Founded in 2000, the law firm ONV LAW provides the Presidency for Europe of the global legal network Legal Netlink Alliance (LNA), which brings together 95 independent companies and more than 1,500 lawyers from all over the world. The law firm is also a member of the global legal network Interlaw, which brings together more than 8,000 lawyers from more than 150 cities around the world. ONV LAW provides legal advice to private and institutional clients in areas such as public procurement and concessions, market-entry, aviation law and airport infrastructure, corporate law, labor law, competition law, environmental law, as well as digital law.