Europa > European Union in the World > European Union @ United Nations > EU Presidency Statement - Follow-up to the International Conference on Financing for Development - ECOSOC

Site map | A-Z Index | Internships/Jobs | Links | Contact us

English Español Français

 

 

EU Presidency Statement - Follow-up to the International Conference on Financing for Development - ECOSOC

Mr Chairman,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The acceding countries Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia have aligned themselves with this statement.

One year after the approval of the Monterrey Consensus the European Union remains fully engaged in the follow up and in the implementation of the outcome of the Conference on Financing for development.

The Ministers of the European Union in a meeting of the Council held on 19-20 May 2003 in Brussels have underlined the need to fully implement the commitments deriving from the major UN conferences and in particular from the International Conference on Financing for Development and reaffirmed that this is part of a wider process aiming at achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

On that occasion the European Union's Ministers recalling that in Barcelona the EU made a formal commitment to collectively raise the Official Development Assistance level to 0.39% of the Gross National Income by 2006 as a first significant step toward the UN goal of 0.7% ODA/GNI, welcomed the positive trend perceptible in actions and decisions of the European Member States towards meeting the commitments taken in Barcelona and has invited the Member States of the European Union to continue their efforts in that direction.

Mr Chairman,

The EU considers that our last Spring Meeting with the BWI and the WTO has been successful. We would like to thank the President of the Council for the essential role he played in this regard. This meeting represents a very positive step in the follow-up to the Monterrey Conference.

The European Union is convinced that we must continue the new partnership for development that we laid out in Monterrey. The Monterrey Consensus represents an important step for the international community, bringing concrete commitments for a partnership for development and recognizing the role of all relevant stakeholders. This partnership compact that is the Monterrey Consensus is critical for the implementation of the outcomes of all major UN conferences and summits in economic, social and related fields, particularly the World Summit for Sustainable Development, under the overarching framework of the Millennium Declaration. In order for us to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and lift more people out of poverty, implementation has to be successful. The EU is committed to this goal.

Mr Chairman,

We find it important to recall some of the basic principles we agreed there:

• As each country is primarily responsible for its own economic development, sound national macroeconomic environment and an enabling investment climate are the basis for sustainable development and economic growth. In a conducive environment, the private sector is a potentially very strong driving force for development.
  
  
• Trade and integration in the world economy are essential for economic growth. The important occasion at the WTO Cancun ministerial meeting to progress in all areas of the Doha Development Agenda should not be missed.
  
  
• We are committed to helping developing countries benefit from trade. A key element is enhanced trade related capacity building in particular to address supply side constraints. We will provide increased support for trade related assistance and we are now implementing a new EU strategy for this. Regional integration and support to south-south trade is also essential in this context.
  
  
• To achieve the MDGs, increased ODA is also essential. The European Union is already the largest provider of official development assistance to developing countries. I have already recalled the conclusion of the Council of the European Union in this regard.
  
  
• We are however also convinced that a significant increase in overall ODA must be accompanied by greater effectiveness and accountability in ODA financed programmes as well as greater harmonization of donor policies. We welcome the progress made in work conducted in the OECD/DAC and confirmed at the recent Rome High Level Forum.
  
  
• Developed countries may also contribute to development financing by assessing alternative financing instruments and by working actively to further clarifying issues related to Global Public Goods. The EU will continue to take an active part in discussion of these ideas and will continue to support the work of the International Task Force.
  
  
• We welcome the major progress made so far in the context of the enhanced HIPC initiative and recognize the need for more work on the issue of debt sustainability, in particular for non-HIPC low-income countries facing exceptional circumstances.
  
  
• The European Union is in favour of working towards coherence and a participatory process at the global level. We welcome the efforts to strengthen the voice of developing countries in international economic decision-making as discussed in the Development Committee. The WTO decision to facilitate LDC accessions is also important. IMF and the World Bank should continue to play an important role in strengthening the international financial system. The cooperation among the UN, International Financial Institutions and the WTO is key to this. We welcome their ownership of the Monterrey Consensus and their will to implement it.

The European Union looks forward to staying engaged in the follow-up to the Monterrey Conference. We are also looking forward to the High Level Dialogue at the upcoming UN General Assembly as an occasion for stocktaking and to move the process forward. We believe that this first year after Monterrey has been fruitful as demonstrated by the commitment shown by various stakeholders in the implementation of the outcome of the ICFD. We are pleased to see that other countries, as well as the Bretton Woods Institution and WTO are taking a pro-active role in the follow - up to the Monterrey Consensus. We call on all other partners and stakeholders to show the same sense of commitment.

Thank you.

| Top |

Advanced search

• EU Presidency Statement - The Commission on Human Rights - ECOSOC (23/7/2003)