Chairs, Excellencies, colleagues,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The Candidate Countries Türkiye, North Macedonia*, Montenegro^*, Serbia^*, Albania^*, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina^* and Georgia, as well as Armenia and Andorra, align themselves with this statement.

The European Union welcomes the consensual adoption of this session’s draft resolution on the Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly and the positive, constructive engagement with delegations, in particular with other groups. We thank the Co-Chairs, Ambassadors of South Africa and Romania, as well as your teams, for your inclusive stewardship of our deliberations and for presenting a balanced and forward-looking text. We also would like to thank our colleagues from the Secretariat for their continued support.

The revitalization of the work of the General Assembly is key. A strong, transparent, effective and inclusive General Assembly is indispensable for maintaining the legitimacy of this Organization and for addressing global challenges. 

We particularly welcome the following elements of the draft resolution:

• The reaffirmation of the General Assembly’s central role as the chief deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations.

• The operational streamlining measures proposed, including rationalization of resolutions, the one-gavel approach and other innovations aimed at strengthening efficiency.

• The stronger emphasis on gender equality, in the selection of the Secretary-General, the President of the General Assembly, as well as for other executive heads, and, for the first time, in the rules of procedure.

• The recognition of multilingualism as a core value of the Organization, vital to ensuring inclusivity and accessibility.

We particularly welcome the integration of revitalization with wider UN reform efforts, including the UN80 Initiative and the Pact for the Future follow-up and implementation. These synergies make our work more coherent and impactful.

At the same time, the EU would have welcomed more ambitious innovation in certain areas, notably on working methods or on the emphasis to be placed on ensuring gender balance for the position of Secretary General and other executive heads

Co-Chairs,

The EU and its Member States remain fully committed to the revitalization process. We believe this is not a one-off exercise, but a continuing effort to ensure that the General Assembly can fulfil its Charter-mandated role with credibility, efficiency and relevance for all Member States and for the peoples we serve.

We also attach the utmost importance to the consensual adoption of this resolution, which is central to the functioning of the Organization, under the Charter, as it nears its 80^th anniversary, and we look forward to pro-actively engage with delegations on its implementation.

I thank you.
 

* North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.