Mr. Secretary-General, Under-Secretary General Voronkov, Excellencies, etc. 

I am honoured to deliver remarks on behalf of the European Union and its MS on the occasion of the sixth review of the UN Global Counterterrorism Strategy.

The Candidate Countries the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, Montenegro^*, Serbia^* and Albania^*, the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the EFTA country Iceland, member of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, align themselves with this statement.

Let me start at the outset by welcoming the consensual adoption of the GCTS Review resolution and by thanking the co-facilitators for their tireless efforts in this process.

The EU pursues a comprehensive approach to combating and preventing terrorism, with the respect for human rights and the rule of law at its core. The UN Global Counterterrorism Strategy, together with relevant Security Council Resolutions, and the SG's Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism help guide EU efforts in counterterrorism and preventing violent extremism.

We fully support the UN's role in the prevention of, and fight against terrorism. The deepening of the international consensus and strengthening of international efforts to combat terrorism remain key objectives for the EU. To that end, the European Union and the United Nations will shortly agree on a Framework for enhancing our partnership in this area. Over the coming two years, this framework will guide our joint efforts to advance the implementation of the Global Counterterrorism Strategy and to assist Member States as appropriate in their efforts to fully implement relevant UN Security Council Resolutions. We will focus our enhanced partnership efforts on Iraq, Africa and Central, South, and Southeast Asia, as well as on the priority global concern of preventing violent extremism.

This biennial review of the Global Counterterrorism Strategy is an opportunity to strengthen consensus and refocus the attention of the international community on emerging and evolving issues. In this regard, the EU welcomes that this resolution provides several important updates regarding the threat of foreign terrorist fighters, including returnees and relocators, as well as regarding the financing of terrorism, to name only two examples.

The EU takes this opportunity to reaffirm the importance of a balanced implementation of all four pillars of the Global Counterterrorism Strategy. Each pillar is of equal importance in our joint fight against terrorism, and although we think that there is improvement possible in this respect the consensus reached in negotiations during this review process upholds an important signal that we remain united in our efforts to create a strong front against all forms and manifestations of terrorism and violent extremism, while upholding the respect for human rights. We believe a comprehensive approach is particularly critical as the States grapple with the prospect of returning or relocating fighters from conflict zones, victims of terrorism, including family members and the impact on homegrown violent extremism.

While the resolution we just adopted represents a hard won consensus, we must acknowledge persistent differences between Member States on fundamental issues such as the concept of prevention of violent extremism, the identification of conditions conducive to radicalisation, the role civil society plays in countering terrorism and preventing violent extremism as well as the importance of paying due attention to the gender dimension. In our collective efforts to implement the Global Strategy over the coming biennium, we must seek to bridge these divides. In this respect, the EU looks to the leadership of Under-Secretary General Voronkov and the UN Office for Counterterrorism. 

The EU and its MS fully support a "whole-of-society" approach to implementing this Global Strategy, and calls on strengthened collaboration and cooperation between governments and civil society. By embracing human rights and rule of law, and working to eliminate corruption, governments can create an enabling environment for local authorities and civil society to counter radicalisation and violent extremism.

In that regard, we welcome USG Voronkov's strong expressions of support for the need to increase efforts in preventing violent extremism, and for the important role that civil society can and must play. We agree with the USG's assertion at the recent UNDP Global Meeting on Preventing Violent Extremism in Oslo, Norway, that 'the UN needs to do more to strengthen cooperation with civil society on PVE.' The EU fully supports this position and commits to advancing this objective in partnership with the Office of Counterterrorism, other United Nations entities, and Member States.

Likewise, the EU and its MS are encouraged by the positive and concrete UN reforms achieved in the area of CT and PVE. Reforming the UN counterterrorism architecture – with the appointment of USG Voronkov and creation of UNOCT – was an important and necessary step to bring coherence and strengthen the role of the UN in driving progress in our collective efforts to realise the objectives of the Global Strategy. The EU agrees with the Secretary-General as he indicated in his report that, going forward, the work of OCT should be consolidated around the development of global policy and coordination. The European Union is a natural partner to the UN in this pursuit, and we remain committed to continuing our close and energetic support to this endeavour. The ongoing discussions on the reform of the UNCCT should be pursued with the aim to strengthen the efficiency of the Centre and the impact of its activities, to improve planning, implementation, and transparency of funding and governance, drawing on best practices of UN partnership funds, multi-donor trust funds and relevant programmes inside and outside the UN.

The EU and its MS are encouraged by the UN's commitment to strengthen coordination towards an "All-of-UN Approach" in countering terrorism and preventing violent extremism. We welcome the parameters for strengthening coordination set forth in the Global Counterterrorism Coordination Compact. The Compact's goal of achieving better coherence, transparency, and coordination amongst the many UN entities involved in CT and PVE work addresses a priority concern of the EU and UN Members States.  We trust that through implementation of the Compact and enhanced collaboration with external partners, the United Nations system can have a better impact and provide stronger and more efficient technical assistance and capacity-building support to Member States.

We reiterate the responsibility of each UN Member State in implementing the Global Counterterrorism Strategy and their obligations under international law, including UN Security Council Resolutions. We commend the work of CTED in assessing, monitoring and supporting implementation of these Security Council resolutions, and applaud the re-invigorated level of collaboration and cooperation led by CTED Executive Director Coninsx and Under-Secretary General Voronkov in this effort, including as translated in the recent joint report of the  Office of Counter-Terrorism and CTED; A strong coordination and cooperation between CTED and the OCT is key, as they work within their mandates and in their distinct roles to ensure effective alignment of United Nations technical and capacity building assistance with gaps in implementation and capacity as identified by CTED.

The EU and its MS remain committed to multilateralism and supports global efforts to fight terrorism and violent extremism in support of the UN, in particular through the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF). We encourage further cooperation between the GCTF and the UN in implementing the Global Strategy.

The EU and its MS welcome the adoption of the Review resolution and commend the co-facilitators for their successful efforts to re-structure the resolution in order to align it with the main pillars of the Strategy. We will continue our steadfast support to and collaboration with the United Nations, the UN Office of Counterterrorism, and Member States towards realising full implementation of the Global Counterterrorism Strategy.

Thank you.

* The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.