Final - for publication

Mr President, Mr Secretary General, distinguished colleagues, 

I deliver this statement on behalf of the EU and its member states. 

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

Thank you, Mr President, for convening us here today to discuss the implementation of the Pact for the Future. I also thank the Secretary-General for briefing the membership on the work of the UN in this regard. Today, six months after the Pact’s adoption, we continue to witness interconnected challenges, all the more accrued, in a shifting geopolitical context. 

As multilateralism is under severe strain, the Pact is our guiding light. The Pact showcased the ability of the international community to come together, to reaffirm our commitment to act in accordance with international law, with the UN Charter at its core, and set out a vision and a pathway to address the multitude of challenges the world is facing today. 

Distinguished colleagues,

Showcasing our political will, global solidarity, and focus on impact and result, we must act together towards implementation by making use of existing, national, regional and multilateral processes as much as possible. We should engage in dialogue - amongst ourselves, with civil society, the private sector and citizens across the world - and cooperate with all stakeholders to ensure its effective implementation. This must be a joint effort. 

The EU and its member states are walking the talk. Since the Pact’s adoption, the EU and its member states have prioritized Pact implementation as part of our daily work here at the UN. And we will continue to do so. We worked tirelessly to follow-up on Pact actions in relevant GA resolutions, gathered together with other UN Member States in various formats, including Groups of Friends, to discuss distinct actions in the Pact, and we undertook to ensure that relevant multilateral processes outside the halls of this building, were infused with the respective notions and ambitions of the Pact. 

For this, the EU and its member states have organized themselves through dedicated Action Champions to advance work on the Pact’s implementation. You will hear from several of them today, providing concrete examples on how we can transform the Pact’s commitments into actionable policies and outcomes. 

Allow me to focus on the following three areas of the Pact. On sustainable development:

As largest provider of ODA to partner countries and biggest and most reliable financial contributor to the UN, the European Union and its member states will continue to partner with other regions and intensify our outreach efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. 

As a major contribution to Agenda 2030, Team Europe is mobilising up to 300 billion euro of investments in Global Gateway projects until 2027. 

From Latin America and the Caribbean, to Africa, Central Asia and the Pacific, we leverage public and private investments and work with our partners to tackle the most pressing global challenges, from fighting climate change, to improving health systems, digital connectivity, and boosting competitiveness and security of global supply chains. We align these goals with the Pact’s ambitions. 

Not shying away from tackling systemic challenges, we are also committed in finding ambitious, durable and realistic solutions at the upcoming Fourth Financing for Development Conference. We cannot address these challenges without mobilising all sources of finance and enhancing partnerships between governments, the private sector, civil society and international organisations. 

On peace and security, concrete efforts to implement our commitments to the Pact are well underway. Whether through the preparatory work on the Peace-building Architecture Reform, or discussions on the reform of peace missions – we witness a clear cross-regional commitment to work together to strengthen our instruments for peace and security. Sharing best practices, for instance on the development of national prevention strategies, or providing technical assistance for peace mediation - all are crucial efforts towards the Pact’s ambitions of strengthening the peace and security pillar of the UN. To reinforce these efforts, we are working to establish a Group of Friends on Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention. The EU continues to put a clear emphasis on strengthening regional cooperation. 

Tying regional organisations closer together forms a more stable network and thus further strengthens our global stability. We are currently in the process of reinforcing the EU-UN Strategic Partnership on Peace and Security by agreeing on a new set of EU-UN Joint Priorities on Peace and Security for 2025-2027. Investing in conflict prevention and sustaining peace must be at the centre of UN peace efforts as they are inherently linked to inclusive development, resilience and human rights. Yesterday, the AU and EU launched celebrations to mark 25 years of their unique partnership, which continues to drive impactful change.

Mr President, none of our goals can be achieved without the full, safe, equal and meaningful participation and representation of all women in political and economic life. Efforts to uphold human rights continue unabashed. As a crucial step, we look forward to the Secretary General’s assessment for adequate, predictable, increased and sustainable financing for the UN’s human rights pillar, as per the Pact.

Indeed, robust accountability mechanisms are needed across all areas. Institutionally and societally. We owe this to our youth, and to Future Generations. The European Commission has created in 2024 the post of Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, who is preparing a Strategy on Intergenerational Fairness to ensure that interests of present and future generations are respected throughout policy and law making. 

Translating concrete deliverables of the Pact and its annexes into legislations is another mean for implementation. This is also the case for digital issues, where the EU leads in forging a human-centric approach in the implementation of the Global Digital Compact, on the ground. 

Distinguished colleagues,

Concrete first steps towards Pact implementation, and means to do so, are tangible. But, we are only at the beginning; much more needs to be done. We hope that the United Nations, civil society – our citizens – will not only support member states in this process, but also hold us all accountable to our actions. Mr President, Secretary General, we welcome future opportunities to discuss these efforts and tangible results, both here in the General Assembly, and in other UN fora.  

Mr President, Secretary General, the EU is, as you described in Brussels last week, a fundamental pillar of the multilateral response to the challenges we face today. As we turn our attention to the UN80 Initiative this year, we will continue to be a staunch supporter of multilateralism, with the UN and its Charter at its core. The Pact as a reflection of that notion will remain central for us, as will our commitment to its implementation. 

Let us make use and build on the Pact. Let us all become Pact Champions. 

Thank you.

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