The enlarging European Union at the United Nations: Making multilateralism matter EN Venta • Salg • Verkauf • Pvlèseiw • Sales • Vente • Vendita • Verkoop • Venda • Myynti • Försäljning http://eur-op.eu.int/general/en/s-ad.htm BELGIQUE/BELGIË NEDERLAND EESTI CANADA Jean De Lannoy SDU Servicecentrum Uitgevers Eesti Kaubandus-Tööstuskoda Les éditions La Liberté Inc. Avenue du Roi 202/Koningslaan 202 Christoffel Plantijnstraat 2 (EstonianChamberofCommerceandIndustry) B-1190 Bruxelles/Brussel Postbus 20014 Toom-Kooli 17 3020, chemin Sainte-Foy Tél. (32-2) 538 43 08 2500 EA Den Haag EE-10130 Tallinn Sainte-Foy, Québec G1X 3V6 Fax (32-2) 538 08 41 Tel. (31-70) 378 98 80 Tel. (372) 646 02 44 Tél. (1-418) 658 37 63 E-mail: [email protected] Fax (31-70) 378 97 83 Fax (372) 646 02 45 Fax (1-800) 567 54 49 URL: http://www.jean-de-lannoy.be E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] La librairie européenne/ URL: http://www.sdu.nl URL: http://www.koda.ee Renouf Publishing Co. Ltd De Europese Boekhandel RB-u1e0 d4e0 lBar uLxoei l2le4s4//BWruestssterlaat 244 PORTUGAL HRVATSKA 5O3tt6a9w Ca,h Oemntianr iCoa Kn1oJte 9kJ R3oad Unit 1 TFéalx. ((3322--22)) 279355 2068 3690 Distribuidora de Livros Bertrand Ld.a MSterodhiaatlroavd Per iLlatdz 27 TFealx. ((11--661133)) 774455 2766 6650 E-mail: [email protected] Grupo Bertrand, SA HR-10000 Zagreb E-mail: [email protected] URL: http://www.libeurop.be Rua das Terras dos Vales, 4-A Tel. (385-1) 660 08 40 URL: http://www.renoufbooks.com Apartado 60037 Fax (385-1) 660 21 65 Moniteur belge/Belgisch Staatsblad P-2700 Amadora E-mail: [email protected] Rue de Louvain 40-42/Leuvenseweg 40-42 Tel. (351) 214 95 87 87 B-1000 Bruxelles/Brussel Fax (351) 214 96 02 55 EGYPT Tél. (32-2) 552 22 11 E-mail: [email protected] MAGYARORSZÁG Fax (32-2) 511 01 84 The Middle East Observer E-mail: [email protected] Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda, SA Euro Info Service DJH.eA HrNs.tM eSAdcvRhauKnltgz 4Information A/S SRPTFEeae--u1mlxca.2 ta ((od533irla0:55 d s11E-e1p))s 0o22Pc0c11oue 33lbLa@ li 99isPcb44ianoo çc55laiõmt77é eC .c05spon00 tOdicefaixc, i1a3is5 SIPHTFIleazO- 1etlx.. 1m B((I333soe7t66xlve -- áB111t nu))01 d333/kAa924rtp99.1e 222s10t 7503 41TFEU11ea-Rm 1lx.SL 1a((:h122 ihle :00C trm--tip22fa e:))Si/r o/33otwr@99ew23esw t69o.97fmic 13eo92omb.sceormve.er.gcom.eg DK-2620 Albertslund URL: http://www.incm.pt E-mail: [email protected] Tlf. (45) 43 63 23 00 URL: http://www.euroinfo.hu Fax (45) 43 63 19 69 MALAYSIA EU-RmLa: ihl: tstpc:h//[email protected] SUOMI/FINLAND MALTA EBIC Malaysia Akateeminen Kirjakauppa/ Miller Distributors Ltd Akademiska Bokhandeln Malta International Airport Suite 47.01, Level 47 DEUTSCHLAND Keskuskatu 1/Centralgatan 1 PO Box 25 Bangunan AmFinance (letter box 47) PL/PB 128 Luqa LQA 05 8 Jalan Yap Kwan Seng Bundesanzeiger Verlag GmbH FIN-00101 Helsinki/Helsingfors Tel. (356) 21 66 44 88 50450 Kuala Lumpur Vertriebsabteilung P./tfn (358-9) 121 44 18 Fax (356) 21 67 67 99 Tel. (60-3) 21 62 62 98 Amsterdamer Straße 192 F./fax (358-9) 121 44 35 E-mail: [email protected] Fax (60-3) 21 62 61 98 D-50735 Köln Sähköposti: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Tel. (49-221) 97 66 80 URL: http://www.akateeminen.com Fax (49-221) 97 66 82 78 POLSKA E-Mail: [email protected] URL: http://www.bundesanzeiger.de Ars Polona MÉXICO SVERIGE Krakowskie Przedmiescie 7 ELLADA/GREECE BTrTaJk tAorBvägen 11-13 SPTekLrl-..0 (p04o-89c-5z20t2o )Ww 8aa2 r16s0 z10a21w 0a1 MRíuon Pdái nPurceon,s 1a4 M1éxico, SA de CV G. C. Eleftheroudakis SA S-221 82 Lund Fax (48-22) 826 62 40 Colonia Cuauhtémoc International Bookstore TFfanx ((4466--4466)) 1380 0709 0407 E-mail: [email protected] MTeXl.- 0(5625-050) 5M3é3x i5c6o ,5 D8F Panepistimiou 17 E-post: [email protected] Fax (52-5) 514 67 99 GTeRl.- 1(3005)6 241 A 0th3i n2a5 84 40 URL: http://www.btj.se ROMÂNIA E-mail: [email protected] Fax (30) 21 03 25 84 99 Euromedia E-mail: [email protected] Str.Dionisie Lupu nr. 65, sector 1 URL: www.books.gr UNITED KINGDOM RO-70184 Bucuresti SOUTH KOREA The Stationery Office Ltd Tel. (40-21) 260 28 82 Fax (40-21) 260 27 88 The European Union Chamber of ESPAÑA Customer Services E-mail: [email protected] Commerce in Korea PO Box 29 Boletín Oficial del Estado Norwich NR3 1GN Suite 2004, Kyobo Bldg. Trafalgar, 27 Tel. (44-870) 60 05-522 SLOVAKIA 1 Chongro 1-Ga, Chongro-Gu E-28071 Madrid Fax (44-870) 60 05-533 Seoul 110-714 Tel.(34)915382111(libros),913841715 E-mail: [email protected] Centrum VTI SR Tel. (82-2) 725-9880/5 (suscripción) URL: http://www.tso.co.uk Námestie Slobody 19 Fax (82-2) 725-9886 Fax(34)915382121(libros),913841714 SK-81223 Bratislava 1 E-mail: [email protected] (suscripción) Tel. (421-2) 54 41 83 64 URL: http://www.eucck.org E-mail: [email protected] ÍSLAND Fax (421-2) 54 41 83 64 URL: http://www.boe.es E-mail: [email protected] Mundi Prensa Libros, SA Bokabud Larusar Blöndal URL: http://www.cvtisr.sk SRI LANKA Castelló, 37 Engjateigi 17-19 ETe-2l.8 (03041) 9M1a4d 3ri6d 37 00 ITSe-l1. 0(355 R4e) y5k5j2a v5ik5 40 SLOVENIJA EBIC Sri Lanka Fax (34) 915 75 39 98 Fax (354) 552 55 60 GV Zalozba d.o.o. Trans Asia Hotel E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Dunajska cesta 5 115 Sir Chittampalam URL: http://www.mundiprensa.com SI-1000 Ljubljana A. Gardiner Mawatha Tel. (386) 13 09 1800 Colombo 2 NORGE Fax (386) 13 09 1805 Tel. (94-1) 074 71 50 78 FRANCE Swets Blackwell AS EU-RmLa: ihl: tetpu:r//[email protected] FEa-mx a(9il:4 e-1b)i c4s4l@ 87s l7tn9et.lk Journal officiel Hans Nielsen Hauges gt. 39 Service des publications des CE Boks 4901 Nydalen 2F6-7, 5ru7e2 7D Pesaariisx Cedex 15 NTe-0l.4 (2437 )O 2s3lo 40 00 00 TDÜünRyKaIY AEktüel A.S T’AI-WAN TFéalx. ((3333)) 114400 5588 7777 3010 FEa-mx a(4il:7 i)n 2fo3@ 40n o0.0s w0e1tsblackwell.com G10lo0b, uYsil DMüanhyaal leBsassi in3e4v4i40 Tycoon Information Inc E-mail: europublications@journal-offi- TR-80050 Bagcilar-Istanbul PO Box 81-466 ciel.gouv.fr Tel. (90-212) 440 22 27 105 Taipei URL: http://www.journal-officiel.gouv.fr SCHWEIZ/SUISSE/SVIZZERA Fax (90-212) 440 23 67 Tel. (886-2) 87 12 88 86 E-mail: [email protected] Fax (886-2) 87 12 47 47 Euro Info Center Schweiz E-mail: [email protected] IRELAND c/o OSEC Business Network Switzerland Alan Hanna’s Bookshop Stampfenbachstraße 85 ARGENTINA 270 Lower Rathmines Road PCFH -4890235 Zürich World Publications SA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Dublin 6 Tel. (41-1) 365 53 15 Av. Córdoba 1877 Tel. (353-1) 496 73 98 Fax (41-1) 365 54 11 C1120 AAA Buenos Aires Bernan Associates FEa-mx a(3il:5 h3a-1n)n 4a9s6@ 0io2l .2ie8 EU-RmLa: ihl: tetpic:/s/[email protected]/eics TFEea-mlx. a((55il:44 w--11p11b)) o44o88k s11@55 88in11f o55v66ia.com.ar 4L6a1n1h-aFm A MssDe m20b7ly0 6D-r4iv3e91 URL: http://www.wpbooks.com.ar Tel. (1-800) 274 44 47 (toll free telephone) Fax (1-800) 865 34 50 (toll free fax) ITALIA B@LGARIJA E-mail: [email protected] Licosa SpA AUSTRALIA URL: http://www.bernan.com Europress Euromedia Ltd VCITFEU-5eai-aRam0lxs.L D1ea((:33 2liulhla:995c t l))t aippF c00 o:iodr/55s/esiw 5 ta5Cna w@6z6laeew 4l4 al 5i.81cbl5i 2ocr32io sa15as,7 a.1c./oc1omm 5BTFEU9eaG-Rm,lx. L- b1a((:l33 0ivhl:550d tM99t0 pV-- i:22Sli/et/))oow n99sfawi88ha@w00a .m34e72ub ro63ox60p.rceits.bsg.bg HPATFEeaOb-umlxbn. Boat((e66tiolsr:11x f a--o P334dru))0dm b4,99 ilV44nic i@11cat79toti ero57ika31nim s365a014g6i7ng.com.au AABNUittDTeRE wEReSEn PdLÄAenNY SDSEieR s/OicThH aEnR e CinO BUüNroT RIhIEreSr/ Wahl/Please contact the sales office of your choice/Veuillez vous adresser au LUXEMBOURG CYPRUS BRASIL bureau de vente de votre choix Livraria Camões Office for Official Publications Messageries du livre SARL Cyprus Chamber of Commerce Rua Bittencourt da Silva, 12 C of the European Communities 5, rue Raiffeisen and Industry CEP 2, rue Mercier L-2411 Luxembourg PO Box 21455 20043-900 Rio de Janeiro L-2985 Luxembourg Tél. (352) 40 10 20 CY-1509 Nicosia Tel. (55-21) 262 47 76 Tel. (352) 29 29-42001 Fax (352) 49 06 61 Tel. (357-22) 88 97 52 Fax (55-21) 262 47 76 Fax (352) 29 29-42700 E-mail: [email protected] Fax (357-22) 66 10 44 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] URL: http://www.mdl.lu E-mail: [email protected] URL: http://www.incm.com.br URL: http://publications.eu.int 7/2003 T E U HE ENLARGING UROPEAN NION U N : AT THE NITED ATIONS M AKING MULTILATERALISM MATTER PUBLISHED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION AGREED BY THE TROIKA AND MEMBER STATES IN NEW YORK APRIL 2004 The boundaries shown on these maps do not imply on the part of the European Commission any judgment on the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. For weekly news by e-mail from the DG for External Relations, please visit this site: http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/feedback/weekly.htm Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union Freephone number: 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 Agreat deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet. It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int). Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2004 ISBN 92-894-6185-3 ©European Communities, 2004 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. Printed in Belgium PRINTEDONWHITECHLORINE-FREEPAPER Contents 1. The EU at the UN — Overview ....................................................................................... 5 2. The EU and how it works at the UN .............................................................................. 10 3. EU–UN development cooperation .................................................................................15 4. Environment and sustainable development .................................................................. 23 5. Keeping the peace and preventing conflict ................................................................... 28 6. The fight against terrorism and transnational crime ......................................................33 7. Humanitarian aid ........................................................................................................... 35 8. The EU and human rights ............................................................................................. 38 9. EU–UN trade and development .................................................................................... 46 10. EU–UN culture and civilisation ..................................................................................... 51 C 1 H A P T E R The EU at the UN — Overview An enlarging European Union The EU is also the world’s largest provider of official takes the world stage development assistance (ODA), totalling some USD 36.5 billion in 2002. The European Union (EU) is committed to ensuring a stable and peaceful Europe while building its presence Net official development assistance, 2002 (%) on the world stage to contribute more effectively to peace and development across the globe. Other Having started in the 1950s (1) as a project to bind contributors Europe together through economic integration, aiming 7.9 to prevent future war, the EU (2) has grown into a sig- nificant world actor, the biggest trading entity in the world with a single market as well as a single currency United States for 12 member countries. 20.7 European Union share of world gross European Union and national income (GNI), 2002 (%) European Commission 56.9 Japan 14.5 European Union (1) 26.8 Rest of world 27.6 Note: The 10 new Member States of the EU are not members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC), the principal body through which the OECD deals with issues related to cooperation with developing countries. DAC members account for at least 95% of worldwide ODA disbursements. Source:OECD, December 2003. In the 1990s,the EU developed a common foreign and Japan 13.5 security policy (CFSP) to match its already formidable economic clout. This led to the decision at the United States European Council meeting in Nice in December 2000 32.1 to include in its CFSP the progressive framing of a common defence policy, including a rapid reaction force, civilian crisis management capabilities and the (1) European Union of 25 Member States. creation of permanent political and military crisis Source:World Bank, July 2003. management organs (3). (1) On 9 May 1950, French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman put forward the Schuman Plan to place the West German and French coal and steel industries under a single High Authority. This marked the beginning of the European Community. 9 May is celebrated every year as ‘Europe day’. (2) The EU-15 comprises Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom until the next enlargement. (3) The European Community (EC), created in 1957, had already developed a wide range of activities, including in the field of external relations. The Treaty of Rome and these policies are still in force today. The Maastricht Treaty, signed in 1992, which created the European Union (EU), mainly added the common foreign and security policy and cooperation in the field of justice and home affairs to the existing activities of the European Community. 5 On 16 April 2003,10 more countries,most of them from These future member countries have made a remark- the former Communist bloc, signed Accession Treaties able transition — politically,economically and admin- to join the EU on 1 May 2004 — Cyprus, the Czech istratively — guided by the EU enlargement process, Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, with the Union serving as a goal, a model and a mon- Poland,Slovakia and Slovenia. In addition,Bulgaria and itor of progress. Romania are expected to join in 2007,and Turkey could start membership talks soon after 2004. The countries of Hence,the EU is an expanding zone of peace,stability the western Balkans may not be far behind,either. and prosperity in today’s highly volatile world. Together, the EU-25 comprises more than one eighth of all votes in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Along with other European countries,almost one sixth of UN Member States now align themselves with EU statements at the UNGA. And EU member and candidate countries account at present for a third of the UN Security Council’s (UNSC) membership. ➜ The EU-25 luncheon, including the European Commission and Council Secretariat, on the day of the signing of the Treaty of Accession for 10 new countries to join the European Union. The guest of honour was UN Deputy Secretary General Louise Fréchette. New York, 16 April 2003. Photo: GANP/Dimitrios Panagos. 6 The main objectives of the UN are to maintain inter- national peace and security, to develop friendly rela- Contributions to United Nations regular budget 2003 (%) tions among nations, to cooperate in solving interna- tional economic social, cultural, human rights, trade and humanitarian problems and to be a centre for har- Rest of world Japan 20.7 19.5 monising the actions of nations in attaining these com- mon aims. As a consequence of the EU’s own political development and very similar objectives, it is not sur- prising that the EU and the UN should be deepening their relationship at this time. The UN promotes the values of democracy,solidarity,sustainability,market- based economy, cultural diversity and the rule of law, United States which are central to the EU. Flowing from the deep 22.0 commitment to these values comes a natural support by the EU for multilateral institutions, like the UN, European Union (1) 37.8 and for multilateral solutions to global problems. The EU’s substantial contribution (1) European Union includes 25 Member States. to the UN’s work Source:United Nations, assessments of Member States. Growing cooperation in many fields Moreover, the EU makes a major contribution to the UN’s activities. It works with all UN bodies, agencies Working through the UN is an EU priority. The EU and programmes across virtually the whole range of recognises its responsibility to support and strengthen UN activities, from development policy and peace- the UN in order to protect the organisation’s role in making to humanitarian assistance, environment, seeking multilateral solutions to global problems on human rights and culture, throughout the world. the basis of its charter. Drawing on well-equipped European troops from national armed forces,the EU has undertaken to create a rapid reaction force of 60 000 soldiers as part of its European security and defence policy (ESDP). Depending on circumstances, this force can be made available to provide prompt assistance for UN peace- keeping operations, like the ‘Artemis’ EU military operation launched in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in June 2003 in response to the UN Secretary General Annan’s request (and as authorised by UNSC Resolution 1484). This EU operation reflects the con- tribution the ESDP can make to crisis management in cooperation with the UN. ➜ The EU and the UN have also cooperated intensively EU Troika meets with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, 13 September 2002. throughout the Balkans in recent times and will continue UN/DPI photo by Eskinder Debebe. to do so into the future,including,inter alia,in the UN Not least, EU Member States together are the largest Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK),where the EU is in charge financial contributor to the UN system. At present, the of the reconstruction ‘pillar’, the current EU Police EU-25 pay 38 % of the UN’s regular budget,more than Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (based on UNSC two fifths of UN peacekeeping operations and around Resolution 1396); and the ongoing EU military opera- half of all UN Member States’contributions to UN funds tion ‘Concordia’ in the Former Yugoslav Republic of and programmes. Despite the fact that EU Member Macedonia (based on UNSC Resolution 1371) to help States already contribute far more to the UN than their build peace and stabilise the political situation there. share of the world economy,the EU as a whole decided to keep its overall financial contribution at the same level as before in the last round of UN budget negotiations in 2000. It is proud to have maintained its generous share of UN funding as a sign of its support of the UN system. ➜ Left to right: Commissioner Chris Patten and High Representative Javier Solana confer with Mr Goran Svilanovic, Foreign Minister for Serbia and Montenegro, the day after the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Djindjic, 13 March 2003. Photo: Fonet, Belgrade. 7 Other notable recent examples include the following. when necessary. A recent example of this is the joint EU–US initiative on HIV/AIDS. •The EU is fully supportive of UN efforts to fight terrorism through the UN Counter Terrorism Many current and future EU Member States’citizens Committee and various UN conventions on ter- serve the UN in senior positions. Among them are UN rorism, particularly in response to 11 September High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers, 2001 (see Chapter 6). Relatedly, the EU is the UN Development Programme Administrator Mark leading donor of reconstruction and humanit- Malloch Brown, UN Environment Programme arian aid in Afghanistan, which is firmly set in Executive Director Klaus Topfer, UN Legal Counsel the context of the Bonn Agreement (December Hans Corell,Vice-Chairman of the International Civil 2001) that was negotiated under the aegis of the Service Commission Eugeniusz Wyzner, Executive UN and endorsed by UNSC Resolution 1383. Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and Director-General of the UN Office at Vienna Antonio • Both the EU and the UN are involved in the Maria Costa, Executive Director of the UN Iraq pro- Middle East Peace Process as members of the gramme Benon Sevan, International Fund for ‘Quartet’— the EU, the Russian Federation, the Agricultural Development President Lennart Båge, United States and the UN — which has launched UN Under Secretary General for Peacekeeping a ‘roadmap for peace’ between Israel and the Jean-Marie Guéhenno and UN Under-Secretary Palestinian Authority. General for Political Affairs Sir Kieran Prendergast. •In spring 2001,the European Commission issued a communication on ‘Building an effective partnership with the United Nations in the The European Union at the UN fields of development and humanitarian affairs’, aiming to improve the quality and The presence — and the representation — of the EU impact of the EC’s development policy within at the United Nations has many faces. As only States the UN system. This has had a positive impact, can be Members of the UN, the Union is represented leading to the signing of a new financial and by the State holding the presidency of the EU administrative framework agreement between Council,which at present rotates every six months. At the European Commission and the UN in May the Security Council, EU positions are also repre- 2003. This, together with other measures aimed sented and defended by EU Member States who are at creating an enabling environment,will prepare elected or permanent members. In order to ensure the way for strategic partnership in development continuity,the EU Council has set up a Liaison Office and humanitarian fields with a number of UN with the UN, as part of its Secretariat. For the same agencies, funds and programmes. purposes, the EU Council has also set up an office in Geneva. •The EU took leading roles at the UN Conference on Financing for Development The European Community was granted observer sta- (Monterrey, March 2002), the World Food tus at the 29th General Assembly in 1974 by Summit (Rome, June 2002) and the World Resolution 3208. It is represented by the European Summit on Sustainable Development Commission, which has delegations that are accred- (Johannesburg, September 2002). ited to UN bodies in Geneva (including, inter alia, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human The EU is also very grateful concerning the UN Rights (OHCHR), the United Nations High Secretary General’s efforts in trying to find a compre- Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United hensive solution to the issue of the divided island of Nations Conference on Trade and Development Cyprus, which is due to join the EU in 2004. (UNCTAD), the International Labour Organisation The EU seeks to promote an integrated follow-up to all (ILO), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the major UN conferences,aiming to make the review and World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), appraisal processes more rational and manageable,and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), to maximise the political impact of any follow-up the Conference on Disarmament (CD) and the event. This approach applies to the follow-up to all United Nations Economic Commission for Europe major conferences and summits held since the begin- (UN/ECE)), Paris (the United Nations Educational, ning of the 1990s — Rio (environment and develop- Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)), ment), Vienna (human rights), Cairo (population), Nairobi (the United Nations Environment Beijing (women), Copenhagen (social development), Programme (UNEP), Habitat), New York (the UN Rome (World Food Summit), Istanbul (habitat), New Secretariat, the General Assembly and its main com- York (children), Kyoto (climate change), Monterrey mittees, the UN Economic and Social Council (financing for development) and Johannesburg (sus- (ECOSOC), the United Nations Development tainable development) — as well as the Millennium Programme (UNDP), etc.), Rome (the UN Food and Summit itself. Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Fund for The EU also raises UN issues of concern during its Agricultural Development (IFAD)) and Vienna summits with major countries in the world, as and (including the United Nations Office on Drugs and 8 Crime (UNODC), the UN Industrial Development for regular EU–UN meetings. The UN Deputy Organisation (UNIDO) and the International Atomic Secretary General and other senior UN officials also Energy Agency (IAEA)). The European visit EU institutions in Brussels (where 16 UN spe- Commission’s original information office in New cialised agencies, funds and programmes now have York officially became a Delegation to the United offices), Luxembourg and Strasbourg regularly for Nations in 1974. policy discussions. Regular meetings of senior UN officials with the EU Council’s Political Committee are foreseen. EU and UN officials liaise together more and more frequently as daily working contacts de- velop. Furthermore, the visibility of the EU at the UN has been enhanced by the participation of EU Heads of State or Government in major UN conferences,and by ongoing visits of Commissioners and high-ranking EU officials to cities hosting UN bodies. The UN Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General are also developing contacts with the European Parliament (EP). The EP, in turn, has increased the number of high-level MEP visits to the UN to attend major events. In autumn 2003, the European Commission issued a Communication for discussion and agreement by the ➜ European Commission President Romano Prodi meets UN Secretary Council and the European Parliament entitled ‘The General Kofi Annan, New York, January 2002. European Union and the United Nations:the Choice of UN/DPI photo by Eskinder Debebe. Multilateralism’, which proposes the future course of the EU–UN relationship. For this document and for all As an observer within the UN General Assembly and other up-to-date information,please visit regularly the most UN specialised agencies, the European EU @ UN website at http://europa-eu-un.org. Community has no vote as such,but is a party to more than 50 UN multilateral agreements and conventions as the only non-State participant. It has obtained a spe- EU–UN relations cial ‘full participant’ status in a number of important UN conferences, as well as for example in the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) and The European Council reaffirms the deeply rooted in the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF). In commitment of the European Union to make effective 1991, the European Community was accepted as a multilateralism a central element of its external action, full member of the UN’s Food and Agriculture with at its heart a strong UN. The European Council Organisation,the first time it had been recognised as a therefore welcomes the comprehensive Commission full voting member by a UN agency. The European communication on ‘The European Union and the Community speaks and votes on behalf of all EU United Nations: the Choice of Multilateralism’which Member States in areas where powers have been trans- comes at a dynamic junction in the EU–UN relations. ferred to it. In this context, the European Council also recalls the For descriptions of the EU institutions’delegations and EU–UN Joint Declaration of 24 September 2003 on offices accredited to UN bodies, please visit: cooperation in crisis management, which constitutes http://europa-eu-un.org/article.asp?id=474#t and the basis for enhanced cooperation in this area. http://europa-eu-un.org/article.asp?id=1020. The European Council welcomes the conclusions of the GAERC on 8 December on EU–UN relations and stresses the need for these conclusions, as well as the Cooperation of EU institutions Joint Declaration on crisis management be translated into operative action. with the UN The EU meets the UN Secretary General at ministerial level annually in New York as part of an agreed format 9