Mr Secretary-General, colleagues,

I am delivering this statement on behalf to the EU and its Member States.

The Candidate Countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the potential candidate country Georgia, align themselves with this statement.

Secretary-General, colleagues, allow me at the outset to express once again the EU’s heartfelt condolences and support to the people of Turkiye and Syria over the devastating impact of last week’s earthquake. The EU and its Member States are doing their utmost to assist the populations in need.

Turning to today’s discussion. Thank you, Mr Secretary-General, for providing us with an update on the implementation of ‘Our Common Agenda’ and for your reflections on the way ahead, which provides us all with a better understanding of an – admittedly - quite complex process.

The EU fully concurs that we need a ‘Common Agenda’, based on the two overarching objectives you outlined: To reinvigorate multilateralism and to give a booster shot to the implementation of the Agenda 2030 and the SDGs.

The multiple global crises we are facing have further complicated efforts towards achieving those objectives. At the same time, they have also further heightened the need for a functioning multilateral system with an effective UN at its core – the precise objective behind ‘Our Common Agenda’.

We commend the collective efforts, Mr Secretary-General, already undertaken under your leadership towards implementing several of the proposals from your report. I will come back to the specific policy areas in a moment.

The EU has always seen ‘Our Common Agenda’ as an essential additional toolbox to reinforce the implementation of the SDGs, based on a thorough assessment of the gaps and the necessary means to help us improve our delivery.

We all agree that this year’s main focus should be on ensuring progress towards the implementation of the SDGs and a successful SDG Summit. We therefore welcome your emphasis, Mr Secretary-General, on the close interlinkage between the SGD and ‘Our Common Agenda’ process. We trust that the UN leadership will work closely with the respective co-facilitators, the membership and other key stakeholders to ensure the processes are complementary.

OCA is meant to make sure that the UN and the multilateral system is well equipped to deliver on our common priorities, most notably the SDGs. But, let us bear in mind that sustainable development does not happen in a vacuum. The SDGs and peace and security are mutually reinforcing. Without peace, all other goals —from human right and gender equality to addressing climate change, water, energy, and food security as well as reducing inequalities — will be impossible. The same is true the other way around.

We have always viewed ‘Our Common Agenda’ through that holistic lens. The most important point is not to lose momentum and ensure proper follow-up.

We commend your leadership, Mr Secretary-General, for convening last year’s ‘Transforming Education Summit’, which placed education at the heart of our global agenda.

The EU has also been supportive of the establishment of a new UN Youth Office tasked with promoting the systematic engagement of youth across the UN. The ‘Summit of the Future’ will define THEIR future – hence they need to be part of that conversation.

Advancing the climate and biodiversity agenda is another shared priority. We welcome the progress at the last CoP in Egypt, including on the agreement to set up a loss and damage fund, which the EU actively championed. We also welcome the historic Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which - together with the Paris Agreement - paves the way towards a climate-neutral and resilient world by 2050.

These are just a few areas where the UN has proven its value added.

The EU commends the ambition for next year’s Summit of the Future to be truly transformational and to deliver an ambitious ‘Pact for the Future’ – one that responds both to the challenges of today’s and future generations and safeguards their interests. The Summit must build on the outcome of this year’s SDG Summit, and the Ministerial meeting shall help in defining its ambition and vision. We would welcome your further reflections, Mr Secretary-General, on the link between the SDG Summit and the High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development with both the Ministerial and the Summit of the Future.

Several of the OCA proposals have already received broad support, such as a Global Digital Compact and a New Agenda for Peace as well as consultations on global financial architecture reform. The biennial Summit with IFIs, ECOSOC and the G20 could serve as an important forum for discussions on the latter and complement the inclusive FFD process.

The Code of Conduct on integrity of public information is another proposal we see merit in exploring further with the view to providing essential guidance to tech companies on how to target the deliberate spread of disinformation and encourage responsible state behaviour.

The EU also views a Declaration for Future Generations as an essential element for the Summit of the Future and concrete contribution towards further modernising the UN, with a stronger focus on data, science and strategic foresight.

We look forward to the dedicated policy briefs as basis for further discussions, which must involve other key stakeholders, such as youth, civil society and the private sector – true to the notion of an inclusive and networked multilateralism.

This said, we must also prioritise and see what are realistic deliverables for the Summit of the Future – and what areas we might still be able to tackle later. We agree that the Summit is not an end point of our reform process, but an important milestone towards a reinvigorated multilateral system. The real test of our commitment will lie in the implementation of what we agree as ‘Pact for the Future’.

Other areas, such as the important social dimension, also deserve our close attention. The EU is looking forward towards actively engaging in the preparations of the World Social Summit with the view to fostering an inclusive social dialogue on issues such as advancing universal social protection, creating decent jobs, or enhancing green and digital skills.

Mr Secretary-General, you can count on the EU’s constructive engagement moving forward.

I thank you.