Check against delivery! 

 

Madam President, Honourable Members [of the European Parliament], 

This report on ‘the EU and the defence of multilateralism’ could not be more timely – and I thank the Rapporteur, Javi López, for raising the urgent need to defend multilateralism and for bringing this report together.

At the start of the year, the UN Secretary General [António Guterres] spoke urgently about what he called a “5-alarm global fire”, covering COVID-19, inequality, climate emergency, abuse of technology, and violent conflict. Unfortunately, things have gone much worse since.

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has compounded problems that were already challenging our ability to adapt. It has damaged the international order and the global economy in ways that will have lasting repercussions.

By threatening the territorial integrity and independence of a sovereign state, the war in Ukraine raises questions about the whole ‘system’ of rules and norms underpinning international relations. This war has exposed gaps in global governance and underlined the need for reform of the United Nations.

At the same time, however, it has concentrated the minds on what is at stake. And it has reminded us what we are capable of. Successive resolutions in the UN General Assembly have shown the strength of feeling around the world against Russia’s aggression.

The EU has taken a leading role in rallying strong, swift and united international action. This has involved new forms of cooperation with G7 partners, but also outreach around the world.

The EU has also been ready to assert its positive narrative in support of rules-based multilateralism, in the face of the alternative vision presented by China through its Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative, and it was restated in the China-Russia Joint Statement of 4 February.

The EU also maintains a strong profile on human rights – economic, social and cultural, as well as civil and political rights. Just recently, the EU coordinated a statement in Geneva about ‘digital and access to education’, which was supported by nearly 100 countries from all regions.

This willingness to work with partners on all issues is a hallmark of EU policy. It builds on the vital agreements and relationships that connect us with Latin America and the Caribbean, the Indo-Pacific, with Africa, and the Gulf. It draws on a shared respect for the UN charter – which is now more relevant than ever – as well as agreed values and principles.

Unfortunately, the more we learn, the more we grasp the scale of the challenges ahead. The UN’s Global Crisis Response Group has set these out with chilling clarity. And the EU is committed to working through this framework to mitigate effects of the war for the most vulnerable.

But even as we do so, we cannot lose sight of overarching priorities such as Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals. This report is a valuable reminder of the breadth and depth of human endeavour covered in one word: multilateralism. It will be a useful guide for our work.

Thank you for your attention.

Link to the video (starting as of 6:12): https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-227943 

 

Closing remarks 

 

Mr President, Honourable Members,

Thank you for these remarks.

This debate shows that you maintain active interest and engagement on the role of the EU within the multilateral system.

I can only agree with many things that have been said about the need to rebuild multilateralism through global partnerships and the need to ensure the respect of universal rights and values.

We need multilateralism to be inclusive. We need multilateralism to be effective and networked to address the urgent global challenges.

We owe this to our young people, in particular, who are faced with “rights reversal”. They see their lives getting worse, not better, and are rightly demanding their place at the table. This is why the EU is working now on a Youth Action Plan to promote the participation of young people in the EU’s external action. 

This is also our part of the strategy to pursue the Sustainable Development Goals. After the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, the [European] Commission, in cooperation with the [European] External Action Service, has deployed a range of measures to integrate the Sustainable Development Goals into its international partnerships and development cooperation. For instance, the 2017 European Consensus on Development marked a clear collective determination of the EU and the Members States to reorient our policies to support partner countries to progress towards the SDGs.

This was shown in the new Europe Global financing instrument, which includes the objective to support the SDGs’ implementation and mainstreams it in relation to programming and monitoring. 

Our multi-annual indicative programmes (MIPs) integrate the pursuit of the SDGs and our monitoring results and reporting combine the tracking of EU priorities in this respect.

And finally, the new European Global Gateway Strategy, and our action as Team Europe – meaning together with the Member States -, will be deployed as a contribution to the implementation of these Sustainable Development Goals.

Thank you.

Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-227945