EU Statement -- UN General Assembly: High-Level Meeting on the Midterm Review of the New Urban Agenda
President, Excellencies, Colleagues,
I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.
The Candidate Countries Turkiye, North Macedonia, Montenegro*, Albania*, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina* and Georgia, as well as Armenia, San Marino and the United Kingdom align themselves with this statement.
The European Union and its Member States fully support an action-oriented implementation of the New Urban Agenda, firmly anchored in the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement, the Pact for the Future and the Sevilla Commitment.
In this perspective, we are pleased to have supported the adoption of the Political Declaration on its mid-term review today, and we warmly thank the Co-Facilitators, the Permanent Representatives of Poland and Malawi, for their skill, patience and even-handed leadership in bringing this process to consensus.
The EU has 4 priorities in the implementation:
First, housing. With the world facing an unprecedented global housing crisis, we must continue to recognize homelessness as an affront that demands urgent action. We are pleased that the Declaration preserves the practical commitments the European Union has championed, in particular the need for adequate, affordable, energy-efficient and quality housing for all. We equally welcome the recognition of the Open-Ended Intergovernmental Working Group on Adequate Housing for All, and look forward to its recommendations.
Second, localization and multilevel governance. The EU emphasizes the role of towns, cities and local and regional governments as partners, co-creators and implementers, and calls for inclusive, multilevel governance systems that empower them in decision-making, implementation and reporting. We welcome that financial resources should reach the local level, encouraging broad stakeholder cooperation on different territorial levels including direct access to finance for cities and local authorities and domestic resource mobilization, in line with the Sevilla Commitment.
In this regard, strengthening administrative capacity, improving access to advisory support, and fostering more strategic and simplified investment frameworks will be essential to enable delivery on sustainable urban development on the ground.
Third, a gender-responsive and disability-inclusive approach. The EU is a champion of gender equality, and we were pleased that the Declaration retains age- and gender-responsive and disability-inclusive planning and budgeting, a firm commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, and attention to gender-based violence, including femicide, in the design of safe public spaces. This is essential to leaving no one behind in our cities.
Fourth, climate and environmental resilience. The EU strongly supports coherence between the New Urban Agenda and the Paris Agreement, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, reflecting the interconnected climate, biodiversity, water retention and land degradation challenges facing urban areas. We welcome commitments to integrate climate action and biodiversity into urban planning, implement integrated water resources management and the need to address water scarcity, including through water resilient urban design, develop sustainable, renewable and affordable energy to promote energy conservation and efficiency, strengthen disaster risk reduction and early warning systems, and highlight circular economy.
We also value the Declaration's recognition of data, technology and innovation as enablers of evidence-based urban development, grounded in responsible data governance and human rights, and its continued support for UN-Habitat as the focal point for sustainable urban development within the system.
Finaly, through Global Gateway, the European Union is helping turn these commitments into investment on the ground, mobilising financing for sustainable urban energy, mobility, water and digital infrastructure in partner countries that this Declaration rightly paces at the heart of implementation.
The European Union and its Member States stand ready to turn these commitments into results, in partnership with all levels of government and all stakeholders.
We thank the Co-Facilitators once again, and all colleagues, for a Declaration worthy of the cities and communities it serves.
Thank you.
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North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.