Madame la Présidente, 

Madame la Directrice Générale, 

Madame la Présidente

Vos Excellences

J’ai l’honneur de m’exprimer au nom de l’Union Européenne, les pays candidats comprenant l’Albanie, la Bosnie-Herzégovine, la Moldavie, le Monténégro, et l’Ukraine ainsi que la Principauté d'Andorre, la Principauté de Monaco, et la République de Saint-Marin.

Cette année marque les 80 ans de la fondation des Nations unies et de l'adoption de l'Acte constitutif de l'UNESCO. Aujourd'hui, nous nous trouvons dans un environnement géopolitique de plus en plus complexe et incertain, et le multilatéralisme est menacé de toutes parts. 

As global crises and conflicts continue to multiply, we strive to act where it matters for people on the ground, standing in solidarity towards those most in need. 

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its repercussions for European and global stability and security in a changing environment constitute an existential challenge for the European Union. The EU will support a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and international law, including in ensuring children's education and protecting cultural heritage in wartime. 

We welcome the significant progress achieved by UNESCO in the implementation of its Programme of Emergency Assistance for Gaza and its engagement in the humanitarian cluster system. The EU calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the unconditional release of all hostages, leading to a permanent end to hostilities. It deplores the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, the unacceptable number of civilian casualties and the famine. The EU further welcomes the United States’ commitment and supports the principles of the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict and Israel’s decision to support the plan. We urge Hamas to follow the plan.  The European Union remains firmly committed to a lasting and sustainable peace based on the two-state solution.

Just two weeks ago, our leaders gathered in New York to reflect on the future of our UN system. The EU renews its commitment to multilateralism, recognising the intrinsic link between peace and security, human rights and sustainable development. UNESCO has an important role to play on the global stage and in the UN system: With its unique and normative mandate, UNESCO can make a meaningful contribution to peace and security by promoting the right to education, preserving cultural heritage and identities, safeguarding independent science as well as gender responsive actions across all of its mandate while upholding freedom of expression and of the media. 

We fully support UNESCO’s crucial work in the area of freedom of expression and safety of journalists and media workers, particularly of women journalists. Free, pluralistic and independent media are the backbone of democratic societies, and we welcome in particular UNESCO’s work to tackle mis-and disinformation. At the same time, we deplore any targeting of journalists in conflict and crisis zones.

The EU remains firmly committed to accelerating progress towards SDG4 on inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. We commend UNESCO’s important work, including efforts to keep education high on the global agenda in 2025, as through the World Summit on Teachers in Santiago de Chile 2025 and particularly in crisis and emergency situations.

We welcome the positioning of Culture as a global public good and look forward to the follow-up of MONDIACULT 2025. We continue to emphasise the importance of supporting inclusive access to culture and participation in cultural life. 

We continue to value the EU-UNESCO partnership, which has had concrete results for communities across the globe – be it through the EU-funded Transcultura project, or the ’Reviving of the Spirit of Mosul’ initiative – which can serve as a blue print for future projects. 

We congratulate UNESCO for having organised the Global Ministerial Dialogue on Science Diplomacy and express our full support to UNESCO’s endeavour to promote science as a force for peace and multilateralism. The EU is a strong supporter of UNESCO’s programme on the Freedom and Safety of Scientists and welcomes the UNESCO’s report on the implementation of the Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers. 

We fully commend UNESCO for the successful implementation and broad mobilisation around the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. As a global leader in research and innovation, the EU remains committed to delivering the science we need for the ocean we want, in partnership with IOC-UNESCO.

At a moment when important decisions regarding a new Programme and Budget are taken, we reiterate our continuous support for UNESCOs Global Priorities Africa and Gender Equality, as well as its priority groups SIDS and youth.

As we look towards UNESCO’s next Director-General, the EU underlines the need to address the working methods within the Executive Board of UNESCO – to streamline processes for greater efficiencies and more impact.  

Finally, financial risk management, internal controls, transparency and accountability are all crucial mechanisms to continue strengthening the efficiency of the organisation, delivering the best results in line with the SDG and UN80. 

We encourage the Secretariat to engage in contingency planning to ensure the sustainability of the Organization’s long-term programme priorities. 

We look forward to fruitful discussions at this Executive Board Session.