Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the EU. The candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina[1]  and Georgia, the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Armenia, and San Marino, align themselves with this statement.

The European Union congratulates you on your election as Chair of the IAEA Board of Governors for the remaining period in 2025. We assure you of our full support and look forward to working closely with you and your team.

Chair,

Through you, the EU would like to warmly thank the outgoing chair, His Excellency Ambassador Philbert Abaka Johnson of Ghana, for his able leadership of the Board of Governors.

We commend Ambassador Johnson and his team for the hard work and personal commitment in leading us so skilfully through this critical year. It was a pleasure to work with him and his team.

Thank you, Chair.

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