Mr. Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States. The following countries align with this statement: North Macedonia^*, Montenegro^*, Serbia^*, Albania^*, Ukraine^*, Republic of Moldova^* and Bosnia and Herzegovina^* and Norway⁺.

Mr. Chair,

I congratulate you on your election and assure you of our full cooperation. I would like to thank the outgoing Bureau members - Ambassador Cortese of Italy as Chair, Pakistan, Egypt and Hungary as Vice Chairs and Uruguay as a Rapporteur - for their work since the last PBC. We lend our full support for the UNIDO Director General’s reformist agenda under the motto “Progress by innovation”. We look forward to further strengthening our relations and cooperation with UNIDO, as discussed during the High Level Dialogue in Brussels on 12 December 2022.

Mr. Chair,

The EU and its Member States commend the Director General’s Annual Report for 2022, prepared in accordance with the results-based structure. We recall that the adoption of the UNIDO’s first results-based budget for 2022-2023, in accordance with the Medium-Term Programme Framework 2022-2025 and the updated Integrated Results and Performance Framework (IRPF), was an important achievement (Decision GC.19/16 of 2021).

We further recognise the Director General’s ambition to ensure a leading role for UNIDO in the global periodic review of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9 during the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York in July. We regret that it was not possible to reach consensus on an input to the HLPF within the UNIDO Industrial Development Board (IDB), despite the commendable efforts by Ambassador Solano of Costa Rica. Many working hours of us all were spent in vain. This was a missed opportunity and we encourage the Secretariat to explore further possibilities to submit a review of its activities to the SDG Summit in September. We recall that all UN Member States have committed to this universal agenda and the achievement of the SDGs. We are glad to announce that for the first time, also the EU has submitted its Voluntary Review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, which complements the national reviews of EU Member States.

Mr. Chair,

We expect that a reformed and strengthened UNIDO will prove itself fit for purpose to support its Member States to address the global crises which have put sustainable development at risk. Gross violations of the UN Charter undermine the whole UN system and in this context, the EU continues to condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the Russian Federation’s unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine, with the involvement of Belarus, which exacerbates the global food and energy crises affecting in particular the most vulnerable States.

UNIDO can deliver only if it is adequately resourced. The EU and its Member States remain UNIDO’s largest donors of voluntary contributions from governmental sources, accounting for 32.7% of all voluntary contributions to UNIDO in 2022. EU Member States collectively contribute 28 % of all contributions to the UNIDO’s regular budget. As of 31 January 2023, the EU supports 40 UNIDO projects amounting to approximately 300,000,000 EUR. They are focused on poverty eradication, sustainable economic development, decent job creation and climate action. Three EU Member States – Italy, Sweden and Germany - were amongst the top 10 funding partners for UNIDO’s programmes and projects in 2022.

Despite the efforts made by the Director General, we note that the amount of outstanding assessed contributions remains high. We call on all UNIDO Member States to honour their obligation to pay their assessed contributions on time, in full and without conditions. We encourage the Director General to continue his efforts to increase the collection rate.

We thank the Secretariat for the timely proposal on the draft 2024-2025 budgets. It embodies the Director General’s ambition to re-energise UNIDO. His efforts have our full support. At the same time, we recognise the current financial constraints in many UNIDO Member States as a result of the global pandemic and other crises. We will engage constructively in the ongoing discussion and we believe that with the necessary flexibility from all sides, a decision can be reached during this PBC session.

Mr. Chair,

We take note of the Director General’s priorities outlined in his report: food security and agribusiness; fair global supply chains; energy efficiency and improved access to renewable energy to reduce industrial greenhouse gas emissions. The EU has a long-standing cooperation with UNIDO in all these areas.

With the understanding that the goals of the Paris Agreement cannot be achieved without decarbonising industry, we welcome UNIDO’s ongoing work on the implementation of the COP 26 and 27 outcomes. We recall that the UNIDO General Conference, in 2021, adopted a Resolution on the UNIDO Climate Change Strategy, proposed by the EU. We continue to participate constructively in the ongoing negotiations under the leadership of the Ambassador of Egypt and we are convinced that we are close to reaching consensus. 

Strengthening global food security is a top priority for the EU. We cooperate closely with the UN to mitigate the negative impacts of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and help developing States and particularly Least Developed Countries provide for their people’s needs. The UN-led Black Sea Grain Initiative has been essential in this regard. Its continuation is of paramount importance for many developing countries that struggle with food insecurity. In cooperation with the African Union and the UN agencies, including UNIDO, the EU supports its partner countries to strengthen resilience via local capacities for sustainable production and reduce dependencies on food imports. We recall the important role of the private sector in decent job creation and encourage UNIDO to engage in further public-private partnerships.

Gender mainstreaming should be part of every programme and project implemented by UNIDO. A decision to provide sufficient and predictable funding for the activities of the Unit for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women from UNIDO’s regular budget would be a good starting point in this regard. More also needs to be done to ensure gender parity within the organization, including at senior management level.  

In line with the EU’s support for the UN Development System reform, we encourage UNIDO to step up its cooperation with other UN organisations and other agencies for maximum development impact. We acknowledge the progress made in this respect. 

I thank you for your attention.

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

+ Norway is a member of the EFTA and of the European Economic Area.