UNITED
NATIONS 
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
REMARKS BY
THE
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED NATIONS
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
H.E. MR. JULIAN R. HUNTE
AT THE
EUROPEAN
FORUM WACHAU
ABBEY OF GÖTTWEIG
KREMS, AUSTRIA
5 JUNE 2004
THE
EUROPEAN UNION IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
Rt.
Rev Clemens Lashofer, Madam Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Mr. Governor, Madam President of the European Forum
Wachau, Your Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and
Gentlemen:
As
I reflected on this 2004 European Forum Wachau, I could
not help but conclude that this is an excellent time
to participate. Apart from the impressive historical
surroundings here in Gottweig, the ranks of the European
Union have been expanded significantly by ten new states,
which are for the first time, participating in this
European Forum Wachau as full members of the European
Union.
Thank
you, Madam Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria for
inviting me to participate in this Forum - I am honoured
to be here. The presentations I have heard this morning
have been very instructive, and I shall keep them in
view in my continuing efforts to provide effective leadership
for the Fifty-eighth session of the United Nations General
Assembly.
It
has been some fifty-nine years since the creation of
the United Nations. Had the matter of a European Union
been mooted at San Francisco in 1945, I would venture
to say that it would likely have been considered an
improbable proposition. Today, the European Union is
a reality, an integration movement that has gone further
and faster than even its most optimistic proponents
would have imagined possible.
The progressive strides the European Union has made
and its standing as a major player on the world stage
is a matter that has been analyzed at length, and on
which many conclusions continue to be drawn. I do not
consider myself to be in a position to add to the body
of knowledge and information about the European Union.
But as President of the General Assembly, I do welcome
the opportunity to share some perspectives on "The
European Union in the Global Context", albeit in
the selective context of the United Nations, and in
particular, the General Assembly.
The
European Union's significant influence in the United
Nations is without question. This is to be expected
from a Union whose twenty-five member states represent
more than one eighth of the United Nations 191 Member
States. Whether individually or collectively they participate
in virtually all United Nations bodies, agencies and
programmes. European Union members constitute almost
one third of the members of the United Nations Security
Council. Two of them - France and the United Kingdom
- have the veto.
I
submit, however, that the European Union's influence
at the United Nations and in the international community
has much to do with its standing in the world and its
approach and contribution to the goals and objectives
of the United Nations Charter. It is a widely shared
view at the United Nations that the European Union understands
that enlightened self-interest is implicit in multilateralism,
and this is demonstrated by its strong support for the
organization. Taken together, EU member states are the
largest financial contributor to the United Nations
system, accounting for some 28% of the United Nations
regular budget, and about one half of all United Nations
member state contributions to Funds and Programmes.
The European Union is therefore acknowledged for its
invaluable contribution to the essential work of the
United Nations.
The European Union has also shown a keen appreciation
of the multifaceted approaches that must be taken to
development, if the social progress and better standards
of life inscribed in the Charter are to be realized.
How to achieve sustainable development is, indeed, one
of the critical issues with which developing countries
are grappling today. The European Union has earned high
regard, particularly among developing countries, as
the collective contributor of over one half of the world's
official development assistance (ODA). Its decision
to collectively raise ODA levels to 0.39% of GNI by
2006, as a first step towards the 0.7% United Nations
goal, has been greeted with keen appreciation by developing
countries.
ODA
constitutes an important catalyst for sustainable development
policies and programmes in the developing world. Therefore,
developing countries continue to look to the European
Union as partners in financing for development, and
other initiatives to implement the outcomes of the last
ten decades of United Nations summits and conferences
in the economic and social fields.
Regarding
trade, another critical issue on the international agenda,
the importance of the European Union's twenty-five states
membership as the largest trading entity in the world
cannot be overstated. As globalization and trade liberalization
continue to dramatically change the world economic order,
threatening to marginalize numerous developing countries,
many are looking to the European Union to help resolve
some of the thorny problems in this area. Problems such
as agricultural subsidies, market access, capacity building
and special and differential treatment are all desperately
in need of resolution. Developing countries are convinced
that there is no substitute for a fair and equitable
global trading system. The European Union is seen as
critical to achieving this objective.
Socio-economic
development or lack thereof can be the underside of
conflict and strife, and indeed of the many conflicts
that engage the attention of the international community
in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe. The European
Union has demonstrated its commitment to conflict prevention
and resolution as well as post conflict peace building
by the priority it has attached to these issues.
The
European Union plays an important role in collective
security in line with the United Nations Charter. It
meets some 40% of the United Nations peacekeeping budget,
and its state members are exemplary for their contribution
of troops for United Nations peacekeeping operations.
I was pleased to receive a briefing just two days ago
from the Austrian Presidency of SHIRBRIG, the Multinational
Stand-by High Readiness Brigade for United Nations Operations.
The
European Union is to be commended for its commitment
to improving United Nations conflict prevention and
peace-keeping capacity through the SHIRBRIG initiative.
The EU is also highly regarded for its support, not
only of the Charter but also of international law. Drawing
on its common foreign and security policy, the European
Union membership has been able to speak with one voice,
in providing leadership in such critical areas as the
Kyoto Protocol, the International Criminal Court, and
in matters relating to the International Conference
on Financing for Development.
In the General Assembly, the European Union has been
consistent in seeking to negotiate consensus on myriad
issues on the international agenda. The European Union
has been particularly effective in negotiations of fractious
and difficult resolutions, emphasizing that the interest
of all sides are best served by cooperation rather than
confrontation. This has been particularly so in resolutions
on the Middle East. Here, The EU has consistently sought
to play the role of "honest broker". Cooperation
between the European Union and concerned states has
resulted in texts that have permitted the vast majority
of UN Member States to rally behind positions of policy
and principle.
I
have spoken highly of the European Union, as well I
should. This is not to imply, however, that there are
not some issues which some Member States of the United
Nations would wish the European Union to look at more
closely. It is fully understood that European Union
member states are at the same time part of the European
Union, and as well, are individual sovereign states,
some of which have been members of the United Nations
since its inception. Happily for the United Nations,
the European Union is able to offer a collective viewpoint
on a broad range of issues and has, I am told, been
able to join consensus on some 95% of all resolutions
passed by the General Assembly since the mid 1990s.
Differing
viewpoints are nevertheless to be expected. These, perhaps,
are more evident in the Security Council, and in respect
of foreign and security issues. The matter of military
action in Iraq and its aftermath is a case in point.
In the General Assembly, the European Union consistently
strives to negotiate a common position among its member
states, to facilitate consensus in broader Assembly
negotiations. Arriving at European Union consensus can
be a tedious and time-consuming exercise. Agreement
so painstakingly reached can leave little room for flexibility
in seeking to negotiate compromises with other states
and groups of states that make up the majority of the
membership of the United Nations. I am sure that these
are issues that the European Union will address, as
it continues to develop as a community of European nations.
Taking
all matters into account, I consider it important to
emphasize here that this President of the General Assembly
highly values the cooperation and support he has received
from the European Union, under the Presidencies of Greece,
Italy and now Ireland. It is this contribution, together
with the support I have received from other Member States
and groups that has helped us to keep a perspective
on just how relevant the United Nations is.
It
is this cooperation and support that has helped us in
our continuing efforts to strike the right balance between
development and peace and security so as to address
critical issues such as poverty and debt, deadly diseases
such as HIV/AIDS, to implement the outcomes of summits
and conferences in the economic and social fields and
the Millennium Development Goals, the situation in Iraq,
the crisis engulfing the Middle East, revitalization
of the work of the General Assembly and reform of the
Security Council and other critical issues on the international
agenda. In short, the issues that, as United Nations
Secretary-General Kofi Annan remarked have brought the
organization, "to a fork in the road".
We
know there are many challenges the European Union will
have to take up as it continues to enlarge its membership.
But we know also that we will be able to count on members
of the European Union, both individually and collectively,
to play a crucial role at the United Nations, and on
the world stage. The world needs the European Union's
constructive engagement now, more than ever before.
I
thank you.
