I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union 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.

Mr. President,

First, I want to thank Denmark for organizing this important debate, as well as the briefers for their insightful remarks.

We would also like to take this opportunity to honour those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the pursuit of peace.

With conflicts on the rise around the globe, a concerted effort to enhance global peace and security is urgently needed, as is our collective effort to reinvigorate the multilateral system.

UN peace operations are confronted with increasingly complex challenges, including political resistance, a growing trust deficit among host governments and local populations, and related disinformation campaigns aimed at undermining operations’ legitimacy and safety.

Despite these challenges, UN peace operations remain one of the most effective multilateral tools for preventing and mitigating armed conflict, sustaining peace, and responding to a broad range of threats to international peace and security. As such, they require the Security Council’s firm support.

Mr. President, on this important topic, the EU and its Member States speak as steadfast supporters of and direct participants in UN peace operations. We jointly contributed almost one quarter of the UN’s peacekeeping budget last year and we currently deploy almost 4,000 military, police and civilian personnel to UN peace operations. The EU has also been a strong supporter of Security Council resolution 2719, and we support the AU/UN proposed hybrid financing option for the AU Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia as the first test case to implement it.

In addition, there is excellent on-the-ground cooperation between EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy Missions and Operations and UN peace operations, whether in the Central African Republic, Libya, or Somalia.

The EU-UN Strategic Partnership on Peace and Security is a key strand of our cooperation, and we are currently in the process of reinforcing this partnership by agreeing on a new set of EU-UN Joint Priorities on Peace and Security for 2025-2027.

Colleagues, the EU currently deploys 21 civilian and military missions and operations of its own, some of which were established in parallel to UN missions. Two EU operations directly implement UN Security Council mandates: Operation IRINI in the Mediterranean Sea and Operation ALTHEA in Bosnia and Herzegovina; while others act in line with Security Council resolutions, including Operation ASPIDES in the Red Sea and Operation ATALANTA in the Horn of Africa and the Western Indian Ocean.

That said, today we operate in a changing geopolitical environment. We must therefore reflect on the roles peace operations can and should play in order to remain fit for the future.

We look forward to contributing to the review of the future of all forms of UN peace operations, as mandated by the Pact for the Future. The upcoming UN Peacekeeping Ministerial in Berlin will be an excellent opportunity to continue discussions from preparatory meetings and to reflect on how UN peace operations can better adapt to the evolving global security landscape.

We also look forward to the UN Peacebuilding Architecture Review (PBAR) and we will engage actively and constructively with member states from around the world in order to achieve an ambitious outcome. A strengthened Peacebuilding Commission should play a vital support role in countries during and after transitions, thereby strengthening synergies between the peacebuilding architecture and peace operations.

The EU also fully supports strengthening the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in light of its 25^th anniversary, and recently joined the UN Secretary General’s initiative for a Common Pledge for Women’s Full, Equal and Meaningful Participation in Peace Processes.

In closing, thank you once again to the Presidency for taking the initiative to convene today’s debate and we look forward to the upcoming high level discussions and processes.

Thank you.

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