RELATIONS WITH THE EU
The European Union and the United Nations
The EU is a staunch supporter of the UN. Cooperation between the EU and the UN system, including the UN Secretariat and the various UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes, spans all policy areas.
UN General Assembly
The UN General Assembly (UNGA) is comprised of all 193 Members of the United Nations and its work is carried out by six Main Committees and subsidiary organs
The General Assembly is the UN’s main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ.
Since 2011, the EU is an observer member with enhanced status at the UN General Assembly. This allows the EU to present common positions, make interventions, present proposals and participate in the general debate each September.
The added value of the EU is to coordinate among its 27 Member States to present a unified position. The EU coordinates its voting within the UN General Assembly’s six main committees, as well as other bodies and agencies such as the Economic and Social Council.
UN Security Council
The Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 Members, and each Member has one vote
Article 34 of the Lisbon Treaty stipulates that EU members at the UN Security Council must act in concert and foster the interests of the EU. The strong presence of EU Member States at the UN Security Council and an effective coordination among them as well as with other partners contributes to the promotion of EU interests in a cooperative way.
In January 2024, Slovenia joined Malta for a two-year term as non-permanent members. France is the only EU Member State with a permanent seat on the Security Council.
Supporting the UN
The EU and its Member States are the largest financial donors to the UN system
The EU and its Member States are collectively the single largest financial contributor to the UN system. Together, EU and its Member States provide almost one quarter of all financial contributions to the UN’s funds and programmes, whilst EU Member States also provide almost one third of the UN’s regular budget. Together EU Member States contribute nearly one quarter of the the UN Peacekeeping budget.
Aligned with the UN’s 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals, the EU and its Member States are the leading development donors in the world, providing €92.8 billion in development assistance in 2022, which accounts for 43% of global assistance. Much of this funding is channelled through UN agencies.
The EU and its Member States are the largest donors to the World Health Organisation (WHO). In 2019, the EU institutions alone provided €146 million to the WHO. The EU and its Member States have contributed almost €500 million to the WHO for its COVID-19 appeal in support of countries to prepare and respond to coronavirus outbreaks.
Together, the EU and the UN work to eradicate hunger around the world. The EU and its Member States collectively fund 40% of the World Food Programme budget.
European Union
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View from the European Union seat in the United Nations General Assembly Hall
Copyright: European Union/Photo by Shila Patel
EU priorities at the UN General Assembly
Every year, the Council of the EU adopts EU priorities for the UN and the UN General Assembly, taking into account the UN's agenda and global issues. These priorities guide the EU's work for the year to come.
The Council adopted the EU priorities for the UN and the 78th session of the UNGA (September 2023 – September 2024) in July 2023, at a time when the world was facing a proliferation of crises. These included:
- Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine and its global consequences
- the situation in the Sahel and other parts of Africa
- the climate emergency
- rising food insecurity
- erosion of democracy and human rights
- terrorism and violent extremism
- cyber threats
- backsliding on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
These challenges cannot be addressed by any one country alone; they must be resolved collectively. That is why the EU and its member states will continue to uphold the rules-based international order founded on the UN Charter and to strive for a well-functioning, reformed multilateral system, with an effective and sustainably funded United Nations at its core.
In this context, the EU highlights the binding nature of the UN Charter in its entirety and stresses the universality of the UN’s founding principles.
EU action at the United Nations is to be guided by the following overarching priorities:
- accelerating implementation of the SDGs
- strengthening global governance in line with UN Secretary General’s “Our Common Agenda” proposals for reform and modernisation
- building global partnerships to help achieve our common goals