EU Statement – UN General Assembly 5th Committee: Programme plan and programme budget for 2026

Madame Chair,

I have the honor to speak on behalf of the Member States of the European Union.

The Candidate Countries Montenegro*, Serbia*, Ukraine, the republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina* and Georgia, as well as Armenia, Andorra, Monaco and San Marino align themselves with this statement.

I would like to begin by expressing our gratitude to the Secretary-General for his outlook, and to the Chairs of the Committee for Programme and Coordination (CPC) and the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) for presenting their reports on the Proposed Programme Plan and Budget for 2026.

Madame Chair, under your leadership, the Fifth Committee should be the Committee of constructive change and success stories — the Committee that provides solutions to the enormous challenges facing this Organization

Madame Chair, Mr. Secretary-General, 

This year’s plan and budget process is not “business as usual.” It is more than a budgetary exercise — it is a cornerstone of the broader UN80 reform agenda and an essential step in implementing the Pact for the Future. Our discussions in the coming weeks aim not only to ensure the adequate financing of all mandated activities, but also to strengthen effective and efficient multilateralism. We acknowledge the United Nations' vital role in upholding a global order based on international law, including the principles of the UN Charter.

The European Union and its Member States, as the largest collective contributor to the UN system, approach this process with a strong sense of responsibility. This position compels us to examine the budget with diligence, commitment, and foresight. It also calls on us to look beyond immediate details and identify cross-cutting strategic measures to improve budgeting, financial management, and delivery processes.

To that end, the EU will work constructively toward the timely adoption of the 2026 plan and budget, in the revised estimates context. We count on the full commitment of all groups and delegations, as well as the ACABQ and the Secretariat, to this shared objective. Reforms are much needed and this year, more than ever, we all bear a collective responsibility — across our respective roles — to ensure that the Organization is adequately funded at a time when the UN system, its staff, and the peoples it serves are looking to us for leadership. 

On the programmatic side, we must collectively improve the outcomes of the Committee for Programme and Coordination, where only two programmes reached consensus this year. We should focus on identifying what is needed to move forward. This requires reflection from all, including the Secretariat, on the CPC role in ensuring sound programme planning. The CPC’s role must be preserved, not weakened by attempts to divert it from its mandate. Its function and - associated costs - should not be transferred to other Main Committees of the General Assembly — which, moreover, do not have the expertise in programme planning. Such an approach runs counter to the CPC’s mandate and even more so to the spirit of UN80 and the ongoing revitalization efforts. We therefore reiterate our call for CPC members to demonstrate political will and commitment to the CPC mandate, to reach compromise and to provide technical and programmatic recommendations on all programme plans during the next session, as mandated by the General Assembly.

On the resource side, we support you, Mr. Secretary-General, in your efforts under the UN80 initiative to match reform ambition with responsibility — while maintaining a careful balance across the three UN pillars: peace and security, sustainable development, and human rights. Ambition must go hand in hand with efficiency, accountability, and realism.

In that regard, we commend your continued efforts to make the United Nations more effective, efficient, results-oriented, transparent, and accountable, with a focus on delivering for all. However, we must prevent a situation in which liquidity challenges undermine the culture of accountability and performance. The planning and budgetary process should evolve in order to provide you with the flexibility needed to manage effectively for performance and results. 

Madame Chair, Mr. Secretary-General, 

We will spare no effort in achieving a consensual outcome on our shared commitment — to adequately finance the UN’s mandates. But this commitment must be matched by an equally strong resolve to meet our financial obligations. We remain deeply concerned that not only partial, but also late and unpredictable payments continue to create severe liquidity challenges, hinder the Organization’s ability to implement its mandates, and risk systemic underperformance.

We will continue to support you and the Organization in addressing these challenges, while ensuring that proposed liquidity measures do not place additional burdens on those who consistently meet their financial obligations. We therefore call upon all Member States — as EU Member States do — to pay their assessed contributions in full, on time, and without conditions, and to agree on practical measures to manage the liquidity situation. A key step in this direction would be to ensure that the return of credits for the regular budget and international tribunals is consistent with the current practice for peacekeeping. This should remain a main priority.

Mr. Secretary-General, we would like to conclude by commending all those who make our work possible, and by expressing our sincere gratitude to the UN staff for their unwavering dedication and hard work in delivering the Organization’s mandates, even in times of uncertainty.

I thank you, Madame Chair.