EU Presidency Statement - Revitalization of the Work of the General Assembly

Mr. President,

I have the honour to take the floor on behalf of the European Union. The Acceding countries Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia, the Candidate countries Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey, the countries of the Stabilization and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Serbia and Montenegro, as well as the EFTA countries of the European Economic Area, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland, align themselves with this statement.

We warmly welcome the adoption of the present resolution. Now it is our common responsibility to ensure the implementation of its provisions, since all Member States are the owners of the on-going UN reform process.

Mr. President,

This achievement is a tribute to your strong leadership in conducting the sessions of deliberations, thanks to which we were able to agree on this important resolution by consensus. For this the EU wishes to express its most sincere gratitude and support for your two-staged approach, consisting of a well-balanced "package" of pragmatic proposals and a programme of work for additional measures to be further considered before final decision. We are particularly pleased that firm deadlines have been added for the General Committee's specific recommendations and the plenary's expected decisions.

We have to maintain the new momentum in the GA reform process and show our continued, collective political will and determination to strengthen the authority and role of this central United Nations organ in its functions and powers as defined by the relevant provisions of the Charter. Furthermore, the EU believes that this resolution takes a meaningful step toward the rationalization of the General Assembly's working methods, helping to make its outcomes more efficient and effective.

We would also like to strongly commend the six "facilitators" and all the Member States who participated in the consultations over the past few weeks and contributed their proposals. Their active interest and constructive attitude further attest to the wide commitment of the membership to strengthen the United Nations. Their contribution was outstanding.

The present resolution is an important building block in the current UN reform process. We reaffirm our intention to contribute actively to the ongoing UN comprehensive reform process and our deeply rooted commitment to work for an effective multilateralism, with a strong United Nations at its center. Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of UN bodies, policies and processes will continue to be a priority of the European Union.

Thank you Mr. President.

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• EU Presidency Statement - UN reform and revitalization (27/10/2003)