energies Article Economic Development of the European Union in the Relation of Sustainable Development—Taxonomic Analysis Janina J ˛ edrzejczak-Gas, Anetta Barska * and Joanna Wyrwa   Citation: J˛ edrzejczak-Gas, J.; Barska, A.; Wyrwa, J. Economic Development of the European Union in the Relation of Sustainable Development— Taxonomic Analysis. Energies 2021, 14, 7488. https://doi.org/10.3390/ en14227488 Academic Editors: Iwona Gorze ´ n- Mitka and Nuno Carlos Leitão Received: 14 September 2021 Accepted: 3 November 2021 Published: 9 November 2021 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). Faculty of Economic and Management, University of Zielona Góra, 65-417 Zielona Góra, Poland; j.jedrzejczak-gas@wez.uz.zgora.pl (J.J.-G.); j.wyrwa@wez.uz.zgora.pl (J.W.) * Correspondence: a.barska@wez.uz.zgora.pl Abstract: The purpose of this paper is a multidimensional assessment of the diversification of economic development in EU countries in the context of the progress in the implementation of the concept of sustainable development in 2014 and 2019. The issues discussed in this article are topical and important, given that the spatial disparity of economic development in the EU has never been so pronounced as it is today. While there is a wealth of studies on economic development in the literature, research on the comprehensive approach to this problem in the relation of sustainable development appears to be rather scarce. The article emphasizes the role of energy in economic growth. Authors used taxonomic measures. They were constructed on the basis of selected methods of multidimensional comparative analysis. By using the Hellwig method and the TOPSIS method, taxonomic measures were constructed, and linear ordering of the EU countries was carried out. In addition, using the so-called threshold method, the clustering of EU countries was carried out. The analysis involved 27 EU countries. The conducted research revealed significant disproportions between the respective EU countries in terms of the level of economic development in the relation of implementing the concept of sustainable development. It seems justified to take action aimed at eliminating the differences between the countries in the analyzed aspect. It is necessary both to intensify efforts at the level of individual Member States and the EU, oriented towards pro- development activities. Keywords: economic development; sustainable development; energy; multidimensional comparative analysis; EU countries 1. Introduction Sustainable development is the overarching goal of the European Union (EU), leading towards economic growth, EU citizens’ prosperity, and a higher quality of life for present and future generations [1]. The concept of “sustainable development” is proposed by the Brundtland Commission as a “development that meets the needs of the present, but does not jeopardize the ability of future generations to meet their personal needs” [2]. American economist Donella Meadows (as cited in [3]) notes that the world population is doubling approximately every 40–50 years. At the same time, however, the planet, which provides the energy and materials necessary for the functioning of society and economy, cannot increase its resources. In addition, along with the world’s growing population and economic development, the global demand for increasingly scarce energy resources continues to rise, and the global economy is threatened by a growing energy deficit and hence also a significant degradation of the natural environment. The concept of sustain- able development, which is the basis of ecological economics, assumes that subsequent economic development can only take place within the limits of nature’s tolerance. Thus, attention is drawn to the need for selective economic development, marked by an increased role of some sectors (such as renewable energies or R&D) and a diminished role of others (such as those relying on conventional energy sources), improving efficiency, coherence of Energies 2021, 14, 7488. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14227488 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/energies