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| The Embassy of the Republic of Hungary in the United Kingdom and the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe organised a discussion on the theme, “The EU – a pilot for sustainability? — The transition of Central and Eastern Europe as a regional and global opportunity for walking the talk” on May 25. The event provided an opportunity to assess current sustainability efforts and their future in Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Mediterranean.
In the last two decades, Europe has been engaged with three major political processes running in parallel: the conflict between environment and development that threatens the world economy, the security challenge of the collapse of the Soviet empire, and the legal and logistical upheavals caused by the enlargement of the EU.
In Europe, and even within the EU, there are very wealthy areas with high per capita material consumption, very efficient technology and workforces, sophisticated political and legal systems, and a tradition of rule of law. These areas have high per capita carbon emissions and an ecological footprint many times the size of their physical boundaries. These regions have transformed most of their natural capital into other forms of capital.
The accession of Central and Eastern Europe to the EU offers an opportunity for Europe to gain valuable experience and credibility in global discussions by using its own internal regional tensions as a driver for sustainable development. A lively debate – led by Ambassador Borbála Czakó – followed the presentations of Tom Burke, adviser at the UK Foreign Office and visiting professor at Imperial and University College London; Nick Mabey, executive director of E3G, London; Miklós Tátrai, senior state secretary, Ministry of Finance, Hungary; and Marta Szigeti Bonifert, executive director of the REC. Downloads:
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The enlargement of the EU has affected not only the union but its neighbouring regions. It can be argued that differences between regions in Europe reflect – to a certain degree – the contrasts between different parts of the world. To that extent, Europe could offer the world a model approach in sustainability implementation. 
By contrast, there are areas in the EU and its environs with high poverty rates, low per capita material consumption, inefficient technologies and workforces, poor policy implementation, and weak enforcement of laws. Some of these areas hold much of what remains of the continent’s natural.