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Document 52003DC0526
The European Union and the United Nations: The choice of multilateralism
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The European Union and the United Nations: The choice of multilateralism
The European Union (EU) must increase its participation in the governance system and activities of the United Nations (UN). Cooperation within the international community is an essential precondition for meeting global challenges, such as combating poverty and climate change.
ACT
Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament of 10 September 2003 - The European Union and the United Nations: the choice of multilateralism [COM(2003) 526 final - Not published in the Official Journal].
SUMMARY
This Communication examines the means available to the European Union (EU) to contribute towards the continuous improvement of global governance, through the United Nations’ (UN) * governance system.
The EU therefore renews its support for the UN’s multilateral governance system * as an instrument for adopting concrete solutions at a global level, to the benefit of sustainable development, poverty reduction, peace and security, in particular.
Effectiveness of multilateral governance
The EU must increase its contribution with a view to adopting and applying multilateral policies and instruments. The EU’s influence could be a determining factor in the implementation of global commitments by its Member States and third country partners.
In addition, the EU must take a more active role in the institutional reform process of the UN in order to increase the effectiveness of the system, to adapt it to the development of multilateral reports, and to promote the international policy of development assistance.
Similarly, an improvement in coordination and cooperation at international level should facilitate the monitoring of commitments and strengthen actions for peace, security and human rights.
Lastly, European external policy supports the capacity-building of developing countries to meet their international commitments. In particular, the EU integrates the objectives of sustainable development, trade assistance, the promotion of decent working standards, and combating terrorism, drug trafficking and organised crime into its external policy programmes.
Effectiveness of collaboration
The Commission presents a set of guidelines for greater partnership between the EU and the UN, in order to:
Political and technical cooperation must also be increased in the area of peace and security, whether for conflict prevention, crisis management or post-crisis reconstruction. This partnership must be systematically extended to the competent regional organisations (such as the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe).
Promoting the values and interests of the EU
The EU contributes substantially to the development of policies adopted within the UN. However, it is still necessary to improve the coordination of its Member States’ positions, to ensure that the objectives of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) are consistent with the positions of the UN Security Council, and also to increase the role of EU delegations to the UN.
In order to increase the influence of the EU within the UN governance system, the Commission recommends:
Key terms
Last updated: 08.09.2011