Reflexive Governance for UN SDG Implementation: Assessing Capacities in Bulgaria and Romania

Progress toward achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has largely failed to meet initial ambitions and is often associated with increased ecological footprints and spillovers, pointing to inherent tensions within the SDG framework and governance gaps. Applying the 2030 Agenda’s principles places new demands on policy and scientific systems, underscoring the need for enhanced domestic capacities. Drawing on the understanding that addressing the SDGs’ problem characteristics requires moving beyond rational decision-making toward reflexive governance, the paper outlines implications for key cross-cutting capacities. The empirical analysis uses qualitative data from expert interviews and document analysis (2015–2025) to examine the responses of two EU Eastern enlargement countries to the global agenda, complemented by performance assessments. The comparison reveals uneven progress, with some advances in socioeconomic goals contrasted by slower, stagnant, or declining trends in environmental goal achievement. This underscores the need to prioritize environmental sustainability while addressing interdependencies and trade-offs with other goals to realize the transformative purpose of the 2030 Agenda and beyond. However, capacity shortcomings for pursuing such an integrated approach highlight the importance of continued capacity-building within public administration. Bulgaria shows limited SDG steering effects amid ongoing political instability, whereas Romania has emerged as a regional frontrunner through its innovative governance framework and capacity-building program, demonstrating a transformative political impact.