Summary: July 20, 2001: Statement by Mr. Jean-Paul Charlier, Representative of Belgium, on behalf of the European Union. Regional cooperation at the United Nations (New York)
Mr. Chairman,
I have the honor to speak on behalf on behalf of the European Union. The Central and Eastern European Countries associated with the European Union - Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia -, the other associated countries Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, and the EFTA country which is a member of the European Economic Area, Norway, endorse this statement.
1. We would first of all like to thank the General Secretariat and the secretariats of the five regional commissions for the high quality of the reports distributed under item 10 on the agenda.
2. The major UN Conferences have clearly shown the usefulness and indeed the necessity of regional cooperation. During preparations for the Conferences, the studies and consultations carried out at regional level ensure that the specific situations of each region are taken into consideration. As a result, the approaches adopted are suitably tailored to circumstances and do not remain too abstract, as they would do without such preparations since they would be based on universal common
denominators. The process of preparing the International Conference on Financing for Development is a good example of such an approach.
3. The Secretary General's report raises the question of how best to ensure regional input into global discussions. It also provides an overview of the many regional processes, giving us an idea of their richness and scope. We should therefore ask ourselves how best to incorporate the results of regional work into our proceedings in New York, and above all in Geneva. In particular we hope that the regional processes of preparing for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg
will be the subject of regular briefings in New York, to help the preparations along and enable each group to make the most of the results of its regional process and present them to its partners. We believe that if regional processes are taken fully into account it will lead to a richer and more finely-tuned consensus at world level.
4. In the follow-up phase to the major Conferences, it seems to us that the regional level provides an ideal intermediary between the Conferences themselves and the follow-up exercises within UN bodies. All those who have followed the Conferences in recent years - and there are many of us - are aware of the increasing burden of work. Making judicious use of the regional level is one possible way of relieving that burden. With a sensible schedule which strikes a reasonable balance between
regional and global level, we should be able to maintain the momentum of the Conferences and lighten the burden at global level. Apart from the major international meetings, an important part of the follow-up takes place within the functional commissions and at regional level. Discussion of how the work could be divided up between these various bodies and how they could interact with one another could enhance the impact of our joint efforts. The European Union advocates the general principle of
subsidiarity, i.e. the idea that each issue should be dealt with at the level at which it can be handled most successfully. This is not a new idea, and has been part of UN thinking for a long time in the guise of "comparative advantages". We should apply these principles to all our work.
5. The regional level is also important for the implementation of many aspects of the various action programmes, particularly with regard to analysis, research and technical cooperation. As the Secretary-General's report stresses, cooperation between the regional commissions and the UN Funds and programmes is a key consideration. The considerable amount of analysis and research done by the regional commissions should be put to full use in the UN programmes at national level and can help to
strengthen the country-level analyses carried out by the resident coordinators.
6. We have the strong impression that the regional economic commissions are a reservoir of talent and expertise which is all too often under-exploited. We welcome the efforts which some commissions have already made to revitalize, refocus and update their tasks. They have reviewed their priorities, dropped tasks and agenda items which have become superfluous or outdated and concentrated their human and financial resources on the most immediate and significant issues for their region. We would
encourage the other commissions to follow suit. This is a challenge which every organization faces, including the whole UN system.
7. In general, regional approaches are often the best answer to out-and-out globalization. This can be felt not only in intergovernmental processes but also, increasingly, in the coordination activities of civil society. In addition, the regional level is the ideal level for South/South cooperation.
8. The European Union cannot stress too strongly the beneficial economic and political effects of regional cooperation and the various regional integration processes. Yet the regional level has advantages that go far beyond its immediate usefulness in the economic and social sector. At a time when more and more questions are being asked about the link between development and peace, regional cooperation also offers a rich panoply of opportunities for preventing conflict and for rebuilding
societies after conflicts have taken place.
9. The European Union wishes to reaffirm the great importance it attaches to the role of the regional commissions in the UN system. Indeed, the UN regional structures are a key element of any form of international cooperation. It behooves us to make the best possible use of them.
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