EU Statement: UN General Assembly: Secretary-General’s presentation of 3 ‘Our Common Agenda’ policy briefs
Thank you, Secretary-General, for taking the time to present these 3 important policy briefs in person.
Time was short for studying the briefs in detail, but please allow me to share with you – on behalf of the EU and its Member States – our initial reflections. More time is needed for in-depth analysis and we look forward to engaging constructively in future deliberations. Allow me at the outset to commend you and your staff for presenting us with concrete, bold and ambitious proposals, which deserve close consideration and follow-up – both towards the SDG Summit and next year’s Summit of the Future.
The issues the 3 briefs seek to address are at the heart of ‘Our Common Agenda’ and central to achieving the SDGs and overcoming global inequalities. This is a time for extraordinary efforts. As you said upon the presentation of the first two briefs, Secretary-General, these briefs are your “food for thought” for us. You have our support for continuing to challenge us and the system with fresh new ideas, which are more urgent that ever. We stand ready to engage constructively on those issues moving forward.
Turning to the respective briefs.
On the “Global Digital Compact”: This brief sets out an ambitious agenda for advancing digital global cooperation, based on some concrete actions, rightly emphasizing that this can only happen if all of us in here and stakeholders outside these halls work closely together in an inclusive way. While many proposals, require further analysis, we welcome the brief’s strong attachment towards achieving the SDGs and support the overall objectives aimed at harnessing digital technologies for the benefit of all and overcoming the digital divides. In this context, supporting and strengthening established structures such as the Internet Governance Forum, ITU, UNESCO, and others, could help avoid duplication and fragmentation of efforts.
Recognizing the fundamental importance of human rights, fundamental freedoms and gender equality, the EU strongly supports a proactive and ambitious approach towards making human rights the foundation of an open, safe and secure digital future - one that is based on digital humanism and preserves human dignity and the equality of all persons, including women and girls, online as offline.
A multi-stakeholder approach will be key in implementing the Global Digital Compact. We would also like to highlight the need for a clear vision on accountability mechanisms.
Lastly, we welcome the brief’s focus on the issues of Artificial Intelligence and Data and share the commitment towards building a digital future in which no one is left behind.
2) Moving to the 2nd brief on the Reform of the International Financial Architecture. The need for a reformed system that is equipped to cope with the multiplicity of global crises and shocks, which are threatening to further reverse progress on the SDGs, is evident. We fully agree that a boost to SDG financing is sorely needed to deliver in full on the 2030 Agenda and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. We therefore welcome discussing the proposals set out in the policy brief aimed at raising the level of ambition. Let me touch upon few of the proposals:
On global economic governance: We thank the UN for the focus on reform of Multilateral Development Banks, which are uniquely placed to help us respond to today’s challenges, including to the climate emergency, and support the SDGs.
On Special Drawing Rights and liquidity: The EU is very supportive of the call to deliver on the voluntary re-channelling of USD 100 billion of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) from advanced to vulnerable countries. We are very close to delivering on this target. EU Member States have already pledged 28 billion USD, some of which having committed up to 30% of SDRs received in 2021, the EU leads the way in transferring the resources to the IMF Trust Funds, and EU Member States are committed to step up their efforts further. We urge everyone to follow suit and also call for the actual delivery of existing pledges. We notice progress towards increased liquidity, which includes the decision taken at the Spring Meetings to increase the lending capacity of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development up to 50 billion USD over the next 10 years, and call on the World Bank Group and other MDBs to step up efforts and ambition.
On debt: We also need to urgently tackle debt vulnerabilities, including in middle-income countries. We are fully supportive of improving the implementation of the G20 Common Framework for Debt Treatments, matched with enhanced efforts on transparency
On Tax: The European Union and its Member States believe that the United Nations can play a key role in promoting global cooperation in the area of taxation. At the same time, it will be important to exploit synergies with the work that is being carried out by other international bodies. In this respect, the European Union and its Member States support the efforts of existing international fora such as the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) and the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information to promote international tax cooperation and design a new international tax architecture.
Lastly, on private sector financing: We fully agree that public finance alone will not be enough to meet the enormous challenges we face. It is more critical than ever to accelerate the flow of private capital towards sustainable finance and investment globally. We see the upcoming events, starting with the Summit on the New Global Financing Pact in Paris, as an important catalyst to demonstrate that the international community is capable to implement a global strategy towards reducing inequalities and financing global public goods.
3) Moving on to the last brief on Beyond GDP: The EU and its MS are participating in ongoing discussions Beyond GDP to measure people’s wellbeing and progress, and will continue to work closely together on developing additional tools and measures, including to tackle the global climate crisis.
We stand ready to engage constructively with further inputs in the forthcoming discussions across the different strands of work feeding into the SDG Summit as well as the Summit of the Future.
I thank you.