EU Statement – Joint Meeting of the Executive Board of UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS, UNICEF, UN WOMEN, WFP

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President, Excellencies, Colleagues,

I am delivering this statement on behalf of the European Union as a donor.

The UN80 Initiative must deliver a step-change in how the UN Development System operates at country level. As a large donor, the EU’s priority is clear: act as one, respond faster, and drive greater impact for the people on the ground. 

To achieve this, 3 elements are essential:

First, Resident Coordinators are the gateway to the UN’s country presence, yet their ability to lead is too often constrained. We expect proposals to strengthen RC mandates and authority without creating new layers of bureaucracy, as well as the buy-in of all Agencies. The EU reiterates its commitment to engaging RCs as the main entry point for all UN development activities. 

We must also align agency incentives with collective outcomes. RCs and Country Teams should be jointly evaluated on delivering unified results, not just agency-specific targets.

Second, build leaner, more responsive UN Country Teams. It is important to strengthen expertise on demand, operationalise the regional reset and eliminate duplication in back-office functions. 

Finally, regarding the proposed mergers, we will be able to discuss further next week, the EU supports advancing a merger of UNDP and UNOPS if it preserves the service and financing models and the EU would be ready to consider a larger unified structure for UNFPA and UN Women to deliver greater impact but underlines that the current mandates of both entities must be safeguarded.

In conclusion, the EU looks forward to working with agencies to deliver on these priorities together with the Secretariat in an ambitious but transparent way. We would appreciate hearing further your views on the elements presented as part of the QCPR, UNSDG Chair and UN80 Progress Reports and where the Boards should take a position.